Washington Wizards forward Davis Bertans has recently been a hot commodity among teams heading into the offseason. The increasing level of interest in acquiring his services urged the Wizards to make his re-signing a priority heading into the 2020-2021 NBA season.
However, in the event that they can't pull it off, the Washington-based squad still have another option instead of letting the Latvian national go without getting anything in return.
Via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports:
“Multiple teams without the cap room to sign Bertans are preparing to make sign-and-trade offers in free agency, NBC Sports Washington has learned. That is in addition to the teams that have the cap room to fit his salary without a trade.”
“The teams were not specified, though one source said there are two Eastern Conference teams and one from the West who are interested in sign-and-trade scenarios involving Bertans. That is along with at least three teams – the Hawks, Knicks, and Suns included – expected to target Bertans early in free agency using their cap room, as NBC Sports Washington previously reported.”
Bertans is in the tail-end of the final season in his two-year, $14 million contract signed with the San Antonio Spurs back in 2018. He posted career-best averages of 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game on 42.4% shooting from beyond the arc in the 2019-2020 season.
The Wizards will get the first meeting with Bertans and the first shot at signing him, NBC Sports Washington was told. The team currently has his Bird Rights which means that they can exceed the salary cap with his contract. His promising fit alongside the returning lead guard in John Wall who is coming off a ruptured Achilles injury may even add more incentives to his contract in the future.
Sign-and-trades don't happen often in the league due to its involvement with a number of specifications in the collective bargaining agreement and a list of trade rules that need to be considered by teams.
For example, the player has to sign a contract of at least three years in length. They can't go to a team above the luxury tax apron or that has used its taxpayer mid-level exception.
The tax apron then becomes a hard cap for the rest of the season for the receiving team, as per Larry Coon's CBA FAQ.
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