THE Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament hosted by Latvia in Riga was supposed to be a special time for Davis Bertans.
Instead it turned into a nightmare.
The 6-10 NBA veteran and Latvia fell short of a ticket to the Paris Olympics in their home OQT, losing in the group stage to Gilas Pilipinas, 89-80, and later to Brazil in a one-game final for the Summer Games berth.
Worse, he was waived by the Charlotte Hornets in the middle of the tournament.
READ Justin Brownlee wins All-Star Five award in Riga OQT
Bertans, 31, has been in the NBA for eight years, the most recent with the Hornets who he joined in the multi-player, midseason trade that brought Gordon Hayward to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But while Latvia was in the middle of its semifinal match against Cameroon, word leaked out that the Hornets have decided to rejig the backend of its frontline, shedding Bertans along with Bryace McGowens and Aleksej Pokusevski.
Latvia won that match, 72-59, and Bertans shrugged off the unkind cut from the Hornets, telling Basketballnews.com that "I don't really care right now. My main focus is right there with this jersey on."
Bertans woes don't end there
In the final, Bertans and Latvia didn't stand a chance against Brazil, which ran away with a 94-69 win to secure a return to the Olympics.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Bertans, who averaged 8.2 points and two rebounds for Latvia in the OQT, has a $16M contract for the next NBA season, but only $5.25M is guaranteed.
Can he land a job in another NBA team?
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