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Veteran forward Dāvis Bertāns is reportedly not expected to work out for the Golden State Warriors despite recently receiving an invite from the team.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Bertāns made the decision to pass on the audition after receiving a multi-year offer to play professionally in Dubai. The contract offer reportedly includes an out that could allow him to return to the NBA in the future as well.
Stein first reported Monday that the Warriors had invited Bertāns to a workout in an effort to determine whether they had interest in extending a training camp invite.
Bertāns, who will turn 32 in November, has played for five different NBA teams over the past eight seasons, including stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets in 2023-24.
The 6’10” big man from Latvia was originally a second-round pick by the Indiana Pacers in 2011, but he spent several seasons playing overseas in Slovenia, Serbia and Spain before making the leap to the NBA in 2016.
Bertāns spent his first three seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and then had the two most productive seasons of his career with the Washington Wizards.
In 2019-20, Bertāns averaged a career-high 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.7 three-pointers made per game, while shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from beyond the arc.
He followed that up in 2020-21 with averages of 11.5 points, 3.0 three-pointers made and 2.9 rebounds per contest.
Bertāns’ production dropped off significantly the following season, leading him to be traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
In 43 games split between the Thunder and Hornets last season, Bertāns averaged just 6.7 points, 1.8 three-pointers made and 1.4 rebounds per contest.
While Bertāns doesn’t figure to ever average over 15 points per game for an NBA team again, he can still be a useful player off the bench due to his size and shooting prowess, as evidenced by his career success rate of 39.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Despite the likelihood that Bertāns’ shooting would have fit well in Warriors head coach Steve Kerr’s system, he is instead set to pursue opportunities overseas while leaving the door open for an NBA return down the line.
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