New York Knicks: 3 reasons to pursue Davis Bertans in free agency

1. His 3-point shooting

Of course, the number one reason is the shooting. Let’s take a look at some of Bertans’ impressive 3-point shooting stats. Throughout the past two NBA seasons, just 16 players have made more 3-pointers than Bertans. Only five of those 16 have converted on over 40 percent of their threes. Davis Bertans is one of them.

Bertans isn’t just taking a bunch of threes; he’s making a bunch of them too. The league’s most reliable Latvian player is one of only two players — Duncan Robinson is the other — to finish this season in the top 10 in 3-point attempts per game (8.7) and 3-point percentage (42.4).

One of the most interesting stats regarding Bertans’ shooting is his consistency, no matter how good the defense. NBA stats classifies defense as tight when the defender is within 2-4 feet of the shooter. Bertans was third in 3-point percentage against tight defenses (min. two attempts per game).

The only question mark you can have about Bertans’ shooting is how he’ll perform without Bradley Beal. The duo had incredible chemistry — offensively anyway. Bertans and Beal ranked first in the NBA in offensive rating out of all two-man lineups (min. 1,000 minutes).

First in the entire NBA on a team that finished with an abysmal 25-47 record means something. The team didn’t have a single other duo finish in the top 100.

According to pbpstats.com, Bertans made 121 of his 200 3-pointers this season while he was on the court with Beal. When Bertans was wide open — defender within six or more feet — he converted a ridiculous 47.7 percent. He was fourth on that list.

Bertans proved he was a legitimate shooting threat in 2018-19 when he converted over 42 percent of his triples, but that was on 132 fewer attempts. With that said, Bertans has never been bashful about chucking.

Bertans has been a shooter from the day he walked into the league. His career 3-point attempt rate is .743, per Basketball-Reference. Since his rookie season in 2016-17, only eight players have launched threes at a higher rate than Bertans (min. 1,000 minutes). He was ranked fifth in 3PAr this season with a career-high .774.

Bertans’ lights out shooting made him one of the league’s most efficient players. He’s in the 94th percentile of efficiency overall, per Synergy Sports. He’s equally excellent in both the half-court and transition — ranking in the 90th percentile.

Having a guy who can shoot the ball well in the fast break is a huge asset. Bertans shoots it about as well as you realistically can. His effective field goal percentage on transition possessions was 70.3 percent, per NBA stats. The only non-big to rank ahead of him is J.J. Redick.

If Tom Thibodeau is serious about using corner 3-pointers as a weapon with his new team, Bertans is an optimal choice. According to the almighty Cleaning the Glass, there was no one better than Bertans when it came to corner threes this season. He ranked in the 100th percentile of forwards, shooting 55.0 percent.

If the Knicks signed Bertans, he’d instantly become their best catch and shoot 3-point shooter since Steve Novak came out of nowhere. Signing him won’t be easy, but the Knicks should pursue one of the best 3-point shooters in the league.