Dairis

Bertans

He’s being ruled out far in advance of this game, which suggests he might be done for the season. Elfrid Payton continues to start at PG and guys like Ian Clark, Stanley Johnson and Dairis Bertans will pick up extra playing time with Jackson out of the lineup.

“I’ll be honest, I want to try and play the young guys as much as I can,” coach Alvin Gentry said this weekend. "[W]e have to get Dairis more minutes. I have to get [him] in earlier so he’s playing with guys that can help him, too.” The Pelicans are openly shifting into youthful-experiment mode for the final eight games, so Bertans is at least worth watching as a 3-point specialist. The early returns, though, have not been promising.

He saw some extra minutes today because the Pelicans were blown out. Perhaps Bertans gets additional chances just to allow the front office to see what he can do, but there’s really no point in adding him with the Pelicans off until Sunday.

The older brother of Davis Bertans has a reputation as an outstanding shooter, but only got one attempt in his six minutes on the floor. He certainly could get a more extended look at some point, but it’s safe to ignore him in all formats for the time being.

Welcome to the NBA, Dairis. His role is unclear but the Pelicans could quickly turn him loose with Jrue Holiday (abdomen) and E’Twaun Moore (quad) both out of commission.

According to Will Guillory of The Athletic, Bertans is expected to arrive in New Orleans soon, but is unlikely to make Pelicans debut on Sunday either. With the Pelicans squad ravaged by injury, he could see plenty of playing time once he is active.

He was terrific and showed off his sweet stroke on just eight attempts from deep. Bertans’ brother, Davis, is also under the Spurs’ control, but he tore his ACL back in March. Dairis has no fantasy value.

Bertans has spent his entire career in Europe, but has played in the NBA’s Summer League. He’s got a sweet stroke from deep and led the Euroleague in 3-point percentage this season before coming State-side. He’s got a shot at minutes with the Pelicans out of it, but he’ll be unlikely to provide any fantasy value this season.

Dairis is the older brother of Davis Bertans, and this will be the first move executed by new acting GM Danny Ferry. Bertans probably won’t have a significant role right out the gates, but he might be someone to consider looking at on the days the Pelicans rest their main guys. He was leading the Euroleague in 3-point shooting (54% from beyond the arc) this season, and his contract with New Orleans will have a team option on Year-2.