Lakers, Warriors, Knicks, Other Contenders Could Benefit from Thunder Roster Crunch

If a veteran like Davis Bertans is let go by Oklahoma City ahead of the 2023-24 season, contenders should be lining up to sign him for cheap.

As the upcoming 2023-24 season approaches, teams around the league are keeping an eye on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Several players over the 15-man roster limit, there will be quite a few quality players cut or traded ahead of opening night.

As such, this could be an opportunity for opposing teams to capitalize on a key piece to add depth to their respective rosters. While several of the potential cut candidates could be traded for rather than waived, the only player that doesn’t fit that mold is Davis Bertans.

Given the size of his current contract, teams likely won’t be willing to trade for him. This was further proven when the Dallas Mavericks allowed Oklahoma City to jump two spots in the 2023 NBA Draft just for taking on his contract.

With that in mind, if Bertans does end up getting bought out by the Thunder, many teams should be interested. Especially if they can sign him to a cheap free agency deal, he provides a ton of value as a shooter.

More than likely, the teams that would be looking to sign him as a free agent would be contenders. The Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks among others will be looking to add depth, especially a shooter that stands at 6-foot-10 like Bertans. While he can be a liability on defense, he’s a career 39.8% shooter from deep and has positional size.

Again, all players in the NBA are judged relative to their contract. While he hasn’t proven to be worth $16 million per season of late, Bertans would absolutely be worthy of picking up on a minimum deal. He doesn’t have much value on the trade market today, but if Oklahoma City opted to part ways with him and eat his salary, there would likely be no shortage of interested teams.

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