Thunder’s Trade for Sharpshooter Should Pay Dividends
On the night of the 2023 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to move up two spots to No. 10 overall and select Cason Wallace. In order for the team to move up and select him, a deal had to be made with the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavs were willing to swap the No. 10 pick for the No. 12 pick, but Oklahoma City would have to take on the contract of Davis Bertans. This allowed Dallas to go make the additional moves that they did in the offseason.
While he’s due $17 million this season and up to $16 million next season — and certainly has lost much of his productivity — Bertans could still prove to be an asset for the Thunder.
Last season, OKC shot 35.6% from deep, which was in the bottom half of league in terms of efficiency. With that in mind, the Thunder were 12th in attempts with 34.1, proving that they want to take a high volume of perimeter shots given the nature of the modern game.
Again, Bertans is no longer worth $17 million in a season, but he is still one of the better 3-point shooters in the league. He’s also 6-foot-10, which provides size and the ability to shoot over defenders.
Bertans’ first few games in a Thunder uniform took place over the past two weeks in the preseason. He was fantastic, converting on 52.4% of his 5.3 attempts from beyond the arc.
It’s just preseason, but it was a glimpse into what he could provide this Thunder team in the 2023-24 season. As a spark plug off the bench, coming in for 10 to 12 minutes and attempting a handful of triples could really make the difference in several games this season.
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