Although he was prepared to be on the move at the 2022 trade deadline, Donte DiVincenzo was surprised when he found out he was headed from Milwaukee to Sacramento, telling Anthony Slater of The Athletic that he thought he’d end up with the Celtics in a trade involving Dennis Schröder.
“I don’t know what happened. Somebody might’ve wanted too much,” DiVincenzo said. “But that was my impression, that I was going to Boston. The Sacramento one came out of nowhere.”
Since he was eligible for restricted free agency over the summer, DiVincenzo was fully prepared to remain with the Kings and was once again caught off guard when Sacramento opted not to give him a qualifying offer. DiVincenzo said he had “mixed emotions” about the chance to become an unrestricted free agent.
“I can pick where I want to go, but then you have the other side, like, ‘Damn, they didn’t want me? Do they still want me? Are they trying to do something with a cap hold or whatever?’” DiVincenzo said. “I didn’t understand all that stuff. But my mind was just open, spinning, hectic for a couple days.”
The former Villanova standout ultimately landed in Golden State on a two-year deal that includes a second-year player option, and he’s enjoying the Warriors experience so far, telling Slater that he has been especially impressed by the team’s communication on defense.
“Draymond (Green) is contagious. He’s the engine on defense. He calls out everything,” DiVincenzo said. “Once he does that, you hear (Kevon Looney), you hear (Andrew Wiggins), you hear Steph (Curry), you hear everyone talking. Last night, when I was playing with the younger guys, I felt like if I lock in and communicate on defense, it’ll be contagious to them. That’s fun. Dudes want to do things that normally guys don’t like doing in the NBA.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Tyler Herro‘s four-year, $120MM deal with Miami will likely change the way extension negotiations play out between the Warriors and Jordan Poole, Slater writes for The Athletic. While the two sides would like to reach an agreement on a new deal, the floor for Poole is probably higher now than it would’ve been when contracts like Anfernee Simons‘ ($100MM) and RJ Barrett‘s ($107MM) were the primary reference points.
- After picking the Warriors to win just 39 games last season, John Hollinger of The Athletic admits he may not have a great feel for the team, but he projects the Dubs to go 53-29 in 2022/23 and views them as a “slight favorite” to return to the NBA Finals.
- Having Andre Iguodala back for one more season may have a positive impact on the Warriors’ future, according to Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, who notes that getting guidance and feedback from Iguodala for another year could benefit the club’s young prospects in the long run.
- Could forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. enter the Warriors’ rotation as a rookie? Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area explores that possibility, noting that Baldwin’s teammates and coaches like what they’ve seen from him so far.
- In case you missed it, the Warriors increased their preseason roster count back to the maximum of 20 earlier today by officially signing Anthony Lamb.
