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After reportedly taking a meeting with at least one other interested team, free agent forward Davis Bertans has agreed to re-sign with the Wizards for a five-year, $80 million contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Free agent forward Davis Bertans has agreed to a 5-year, $80M deal to return to the Washington Wizards, his agent @ArtursKalnitis tells ESPN. Deal includes an ETO after fourth year. One of biggest deals ever for a European-based agent in NBA.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 21, 2020
The deal reportedly includes a player option on the fifth year, which could allow Bertans to enter free agency at age 32.
Bertans, one of the NBA’s elite long-range shooters, was expected to be one of the more coveted free agents in 2020. The Wizards fielded sign-and-trade inquiries from multiple teams, and the forward reportedly had meetings scheduled with teams that had cap space.
After joining the Wizards via trade last season, Bertans shot 42.4% from three-point range on 13.8 attempts per 100 team possessions. Only James Harden, Buddy Heild and D’Angelo Russell had more three-point attempts per possession than Bertans last season. None of them cracked 40% from long range. The most comparable shooter was the Miami Heat’s Duncan Robinson, who hit 44.6% on 13.8 attempts per 100 team possessions.
Re-signing Bertans was a key part of General Manager Tommy Sheppard’s plan to quickly reload around Bradley Beal and a returning John Wall. The Wizards front office and coaching staff are excited to see Bertans on the floor with Wall, whose court vision and accurate passing should pair well with the long-range marksman.
The contract, which averages $16 million per season, provides Bertans the financial security he wanted while preserving the team’s ability to use the biannual exception and at least a significant portion of the midlevel exception to sign additional help for the roster.
UPDATE: I crunched some numbers, and Bertans’ new contract could have a starting salary as low as $13.8 million. If that’s how they structure the contract, the Wizards would be able to use the full midlevel exception and remain under the luxury tax line.
The Wizards also agreed to terms with free agent forward Anthony Gill, who’d played overseas the past four years.