Phoenix Suns expected to pursue Davis Bertans in free agency

The Phoenix Suns are reportedly interested in signing Davis Bertans in free agency this offseason.

Of all the teams in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns are going to have the 7th-most cap space this offseason. One rumor already has them going after Fred VanVleet, and now Chase Hughes of NBC reports the Suns are among four teams expected to target Davis Bertans in free agency.

Teams joining the Suns with interest in Bertans include the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks (whose new management seems to be interested in anyone and everyone), and of course, Bertans’ current team, the Washington Wizards, who are supposedly making him their top priority to re-sign.

Would Bertans be a good fit for the Phoenix Suns?

During the hiatus, we called out Bertans as a potential target for the Suns, and now NBC has confirmed it. Bertans is a sharp-shooting power forward who set career numbers in Washington this season in points (15.4), rebounds (4.5), and 3s made (3.7).

Back in December, the Athletic reported Bertans was in line to make somewhere between $15-$20 million per season on his next contract. The salary cap for next season is in flux at the moment, but don’t expect his value to drop much more than that.

So, should the Phoenix Suns go after him?

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It is hard to say. In theory, Cameron Johnson played the exact same role in the bubble as they would expect Bertans to play if they were to sign him. In this bubble (where Davis Bertans chose to sit out), Johnson scored 13.3 points, grabbed 5.9 rebounds, and made 2.1 shots from behind the arc per game.

That isn’t too bad for someone who isn’t used to playing the 4, and not too far off what the Suns are allegedly prepared to pay someone else around $15 million to provide.

Of course, if they did sign Bertans, they would have two solid players, not just one, so maybe doubling down on this type of player is how they want to fill their roster.

At any rate, it will be interesting to see how Sarver chooses to spend (or save) his money this offseason during these tumultuous times. For now, though, the rumor is the Phoenix Suns are interested. We’ll see what happens.