Forward Davis Bertans won’t rejoin the Washington Wizards when the NBA season restarts near Orlando next month, becoming the first NBA player to decide to sit out instead of playing during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bertans, coming off a career year, is in line for a big payday when he hits free agency in the offseason. The 27-year-old’s decision comes as some players have voiced concerns about jeopardizing their health — and future earnings — amid the outbreak.
The Washington Wizards reportedly support the move, and Bertans will count as an excused absence. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said players who sit out won’t be in breach of contract, adding the league and the player’s union have agreed upon reduced pay for any player who decides not to participate.
Bertans, according to ESPN, will forfeit more than $500,000 from his $7 million salary under that agreement. The NBA plans on playing eight regular-season games featuring 22 teams followed by a 16-team postseason when it resumes at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando.
But Bertans stands to gain millions in free agency. Before the pandemic halted the season in March, Bertans was tied for fourth in the league in 3-pointers made per game (3.7) and ranked seventh in 3-point percentage (.424). Elite shooting is a rare commodity in the NBA and Bertans is expected to be in demand.
The Latvian sharpshooter turned out to be one of the Wizards’ top offseason moves when the team acquired him from the San Antonio Spurs last summer. Bertans was Washington’s second-leading scorer with a career-high 15.4 points per game, trailing only Bradley Beal (30.5).
Prior to joining the NBA in 2016, Bertans also had a history of knee injuries — tearing his ACL twice while playing overseas. But Bertans has since recovered and turned into a valuable shooter off the bench. He appeared in every game for Washington this season.
Bertans’ absence likely worsens the Wizards’ playoff chances when they return. Under the NBA’s reworked format, Washington needs to be just 4 ½ games behind the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference to force a play-in tournament for the postseason. With a 24-40 record, the Wizards are 5 ½ games back of the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic.
It remains to be seen how many other players join Bertans on the sidelines. ESPN reported later in the afternoon that Portland Trail Blazers and former Wizards forward Trevor Ariza won’t participate in order to spend more time with his 12-year-old son. Earlier this month, ESPN reported young stars like Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and Boston’s Jayson Tatum had raised the possibility of league-financed insurance policies to protect against career-threatening injuries in a conversation with their union. Mitchell and Tatum, like Bertans, are eligible for a major raise in the offseason.
Washington’s John Wall, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, said on a podcast earlier this month that he would skip the NBA’s relaunch, even if he were healthy. “I just don’t feel like it’s safe,” Wall said.
Other players like Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving and the Lakers’ Dwight Howard have suggested it would be inappropriate to play basketball given the social justice movement happening after George Floyd’s death. Howard has not said if he will skip the rest of the season.
In the WNBA, multiple stars announced they were skipping the league’s upcoming 22-game season at IMG Academy Prep in Florida. The Mystics’ Natasha Cloud and LaToya Sanders said they would not participate, joining Connecticut Sun All-Star center Jonquel Jones.
Cloud said she is skipping the season to focus on social justice reform.
“This has been one of the toughest decisions of my career,” said Cloud, who has vocal on racial injustice issues. “But, I will be foregoing the 2020 WNBA season. There’s a lot of factors that led to this decision, but the biggest being that I am more than an athlete.
In a statement, Jones said the “unknown aspects of COVID 19 have raised serious health concerns that I do not feel comfortable competing in.” Sanders also cited her health and family.
The Wizards, meanwhile, will be able to sign a replacement player to fill Bertans’ spot on the roster.
Washington has said it plans to re-sign Bertans in the offseason. Despite Bertans’ expiring contract, the Wizards resisted trade offers to deal the forward at the deadline in February.
“It was never a doubt in my mind that we wanted to keep him,” Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said then.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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