Donte DiVincenzo and his camp believe the Kings are intentionally trying to suppress his market value ahead of free agency, James Ham of ESPN 1320 says on the latest Kings Beat podcast (audio link from SabonisMuse on Twitter).
According to Ham, DiVincenzo and his representatives think he was kept out of the starting lineup to make him more affordable for Sacramento to re-sign.
Having started 66 games last season for Milwaukee, DiVincenzo would’ve met the “starter criteria” and been eligible for a higher qualifying offer ($7.9MM) if the Kings had started him at least seven times. Head coach Alvin Gentry suggested in mid-March that there was a good chance the 25-year-old would move into the starting lineup down the stretch, but that never happened.
DiVincenzo has appeared in 23 games, starting just one, since being acquired from the Bucks in a four-team trade at the February deadline. He has been a regular part of Sacramento’s rotation, playing 26.8 minutes per night and averaging 10.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
Assuming the Kings make a $6.6MM qualifying offer, DiVincenzo will be a restricted free agent since he didn’t reach an agreement with Milwaukee on a rookie-scale extension before the start of the season. That means Sacramento will have the option to match any offer he receives.
Ham adds that DiVincenzo is optimistic about receiving a mid-level exception offer from somebody this summer, while the Kings would prefer to keep him at a salary lower than that.
DiVincenzo had a regular role with the Bucks before suffering a torn ligament in his ankle during last year’s playoffs. He underwent surgery in June and wasn’t able to return until Christmas Day.
He’s a pending free agent on a team not trying to win. His value isn’t being surprised, he’s just not someone to play to see what he is.
On the other hand, he is surprised. He is someone to play to see what he is. Did you ever consider that?
You should be doing standup with jokes as good as that.
The KANGZ were tryin to make the play in, this is just another in a 20 year series of follies to make a player you just acquired quit on you, owner is way too involved and if he’s worried about player salaries he shouldn’t own an nba team
Lol wow quite the claim
He’s playing 0.7 fewer minutes per game since joining the Kings than he did last year with the Bucks. Not a big gap. Comments like these probably suppress his value to other clubs I’d suspect.
He’s not playing in the shadow of Giannis, Middleton and Holiday now either though, so probably feels like there’s no good reason his PT is being limited this much.
If I’m the King’s I’m far more interested in what Davion Mitchell brings to the table then Donte DiVincenzo plus he’s still getting over 30 minutes a game.
@Down with OBP… So, you think anyone playing in SAC should play just as much in MIL which is the reigning champions, right?
It seems a very odd statement counting that SAC is a perennial bottom feeder!
I must admit I have been surprised of how little he has played, specially with Fox & Sabonis out of the team…
Sad way for SAC to squander resources, because it seems DDV isn’t in a hurry to sign with SAC… meanwhile IND has shown how you do it with Jalen Smith, they can’t pay him what he deserves, but they are the only team that has given him a chance, which in my book, he must carefully consider stay in there, chasing money usually ends up badly for the players at least, not the teams they always win one way or another.
Just poor judgement from SAC, sadly another one, for a team that can’t attract FA’s must go above & beyond to keep happy the players they already have!
His claim seems sus to me he’s been averaging over 30mpg in the last 10. He’s also playing the most minutes of any guard not named Davion Mitchell in the same 10 games.
Him getting starter minutes but not actually starting in games is exactly why his claim holds merit. It is not about the minutes he gets (since he lost half the season to injury) it is about starts. If he starts in only 7 of the last 10 games in which you mentioned he got 30+mpg, then the QO from SAC would’ve been $1.3M more than what it is now. I agree they should be looking to see what they have in Mitchell, but with Fox missing so many games at the end of the seasons it’s hard to justify not starting Donte.
Therefore, they did indeed suppress his value. He has the option to choose to sign the 1 year QO deal then be an unrestricted FA next year, instead of trying to get a deal from another team this year that SAC could inevitably match and have him return there.
The kings had to see what they had in starter Justin Holliday and his huge upside bc he contributes to so many wins
Let’s just face facts he’s not really all that anyways
I feel like Donte’s situation says more about the “starter criteria” being a silly thing: if Donte’s effectively playing starter minutes, his qualifying offer should be higher. Seems the current system penalizes sixth men. NBAPA ought to address this in the next CBA, especially with guys like Herro playing huge minutes off the bench.
First thing to check is how tall Dante is. Says 6’4″. Just makes the Celtics cut. My image of DDV is that he’s aggressive so if he’s disgruntled, maybe the Celtics can pick him up at a low price. But only if talent scout GM/President Brad Stevens thinks he can fit in. We need defensive players to win titles. On second thought, he’d probably want more minutes than available. Go Celtics!
its not about minutes its about starts. If he doesn’t start enough games then the Kings can get him at a lower qualifying offer. But if he does then the Kings will have to pay him more. There giving him starter mins without the starting job.
What a dum.b advice he’s getting from his agent. By making a public statement like this, he lowered his value much much more. Just shut up, train and improve, and everything will work itself out in the matket.
Nonsense. His market value isn’t affected by the amount of his Q/O. If SAC was “intentionally” not playing him at all (such that he couldn’t show the rest of the league he’s recovered from his injury), that might affect his market value. The rest of the league doesn’t care about the amount of the Kings’ Q/O.