When Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti shipped off the No. 12 pick and a Traded Player Exception to the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 10 pick and Davis Bertans in the 2023 NBA Draft, he was taking on a chunk of a salary.
Bertans’ guaranteed $17 million this season and up to $16 million in 2024-25, many thought he could be shipped off fairly quickly in hopes of a salary match for a bigger name. But after digesting Presti’s thought process in his media availability last week, it seems Bertans and others are here to stay.
His pathway to joining the Thunder on draft night certainly was not the easiest way to realize you’ve been traded, but making the leap from Dallas to Oklahoma City isn’t a complete life changer. Bertans was even elated that he only had a three-hour drive to move all his belongings to his new city.
“I was back home, sound asleep. [It was] 4 a.m. for me at that point,” Bertans said on Monday at Oklahoma City’s media day. “My wife tapped me on the shoulder at 6 a.m. and told me I was traded. My question was, ‘Where? OKC?’ I was like, well, that’s where we’re moving.
“Couldn’t really process it at the moment. It took a little while. You know, waking up in the middle of the night knowing you’ve got to pack your stuff and get on the road. Luckily, I was happy it was only a three-hour drive so the move was kind of easy from Dallas.”
Through the hectic switch, Bertans’ compatibility with this young Thunder team in the upcoming season should bring him some valuable minutes and play time off the bench.
The former Dallas Maverick’s ability to space the floor and provide an added outside shooting threat is massive for a team who’s struggled to do so in recent years. So, despite a hefty contract, his play style fits the description for the Thunder’s needs.
“Bertans and Isaiah [Joe], you could ask people to write out the best shooters in the league and I think both guys make the list,” Presti said on Sep. 27.
As most players seem to do when they’re picked up by a team like Oklahoma City, Bertans has outwardly praised the team’s hospitality and its ability to “install the qualities in players that can make a great team.”
“I’ve heard only great things about the organization; that it’s one of the top class organizations in the NBA. I’ve been here two weeks, and during the summer they kept proving it right that this is a top-class organization.”
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