Washington Wizards forward Davis Bertans will sit out the NBA’s restart in Orlando as a preventive matter, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Portland Trail Blazers forward Trevor Ariza will also miss the remainder of the season as he visits his son during a custody saga, according to Wojnarowski.
Ariza, 34, has been involved in a custody case over his 12-year-old son. With the mother granting a one-month visitation period that coincides with the league’s resumption in Orlando, Fla., Ariza chose his parenting responsibilities over his NBA duties. He could lose between $1 million and $1.8 million in salary, based on whether the Blazers qualify for the playoffs. He has a minimally guaranteed $12.8 million contract for the 2020-21 season.
Meanwhile, Bertans was traded to the Wizards last summer. He will forfeit about $600,000 in salary and up to around $900,000 if the Wizards make the playoffs. This season, he set career-highs in scoring (15.4 points per game), three-pointers made, three-point percentage (42.4 percent), rebounds (4.5), and assists (1.7).
The Wizards enter the NBA restart five-and-a-half games behind the eighth-place team, the Orlando Magic. They have to get to within four games of the eighth-place seed to qualify for the play-in games and would have to beat that team twice to make the playoffs.
