The Latvian Laser Will Not Be Participating In Orlando

This is one of those situations where it sucks for those of us who love watching the Latvian Laser drop bombs without hesitation from deep, but at the same time makes a lot of sense. Make no mistake about it, Davis Bertans is about to get paaaaaaaaaid. Like big boy NBA contract paid. For a guy that made just $7M this year, it wouldn't shock me if he gets at least double that on the open market this summer as a UFA. He's only 27, and at 6'10 he's the perfect stretch big for how teams play in 2020. He could very well be the best shooter on the market, putting up back to back seasons shooting at least 42% from three. This year he made 3.7 3PM on 8.7 attempts! When the Latvian Laser got hot, look the fuck out

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I don't blame him for looking at the situation the Wizards are currently in and deciding to just sit this whole thing out. For starters they are 5.5 games back of ORL so there's a chance they don't even get to participate in that play in series for the 8th seed. Even if they somehow pull that off, congratulations you just won a date with Giannis. That series might be over in 3 since the Wizards will probably quit early while begging for mercy. Something tells me a team that gives up 119.6 points a night doesn't have that great a shot against perhaps the best team in the NBA, one that averages an NBA best 118.6 points a night. Given Bertan's injury history and the fact he's about to secure that bag, it's a no brainer.

But don't think for a second that Bertans is the only player that is going to go this route. This is just the first name, not the last. It's only a matter of time before a rotation player like Bertans sits out only they play for a team that might actually have a shot. Also, no kidding the Wizards fully support Bertan's plan. They want to keep him and know that he can go wherever the hell he wants once the season ends. When you're that important of a player to a team that is not exactly a free agent destination, you do whatever the hell he wants. Keeping Bertans is huge when it comes to keeping Beal/Wall happy which you need to do with all these Beal rumors swirling.

It just sucks that we won't see Bertans get got and make 7 threes in a row and single handedly change the outcome of a playoff game. You know there would have been one game against the Bucks or something that he would have been lights out, the Wizards win and then everyone starts to question Giannis which then leads to him going scorched earth reminded everyone he's the MVP and we should all be terrified. Instead, none of that is now going to happen and that's too bad. 

Smart move by him, but life is better when the Latvian Laser is in our lives.