Washington Wizards: 3 Players that could be traded before or during the draft

No. 1 – Davis Bertans

No one really complained when the Washington Wizards re-signed Davis Bertans last offseason to a five-year, $80 million deal. But after just one season, it’s crazy how quickly that tune has changed. It didn’t take long for perception to switch up and now, Bertans looks overpaid, and his contract is a massive mistake. The love that D.C. fans had for the Latvian Laser has transformed into hate overnight. Ok. Hate is a strong word, but resentment at the very least.

Bertans’ poor play in his first season after securing the bag was extremely disappointing. This past season, Bertans shot 39.5 percent from the three-point line, after shooting 42.4 percent from beyond the arc the season before. The crazy part about this dip is that he attempted more three-pointers last year than he did this season (8.7 to 7.5). The Wizards were hoping to get the same (or better) Bertans from the 2019-2020 season, but he underperformed during the 2020-21, and his numbers decreased in almost every statistical category.

In 2019-2020, Bertans played 29.3 minutes per game and averaged 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. This past year, he only played 25.7 minutes per game and averaged 11.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. Bertans also missed 13 games due to injury after only missing nine games the previous season. Even though this one season could be an aberration, do the Wizards really want to take that risk? Yes, Bertans is unbelievable when he’s knocking down shots, but when he’s off, he’s a liability on both ends of the floor.

It may seem impossible to unload Bertans’ bloated contract, but the Wizards must exhaust all options. They should admit they were wrong and cut ties with him now. I’m not sure there are many suitors out there willing to take on the four years and $65 million left on his deal. However, it wouldn’t hurt to make some calls to gauge any interest around the league. The Wizards have many priorities this offseason, but getting rid of Bertans should be near the top of the list.