https://theathletic.com/3396357/2022/07/01/warriors-donte-divincenzo-free-agent/

How did Warriors get Donte DiVincenzo and what does he bring to them?

By Anthony Slater

July 1, 2022

Bob Myers warned of an eventual salary limit, an undefined financial
threshold where Joe Lacob would finally say no. That red light came on
the first night of free agency. The Golden State Warriors let Gary
Payton II walk. They offered him the taxpayer mid-level, which sits at
$6.4 million. He received north of $8 million from Portland, plus an
extra year on an incentivized deal.

The difference in the tax penalty — somewhere around $15 million extra
in the immediate, a whole lot more throughout a longer-term deal —
caused Lacob and the Warriors to balk. It stung several in the
organization, per sources. They’d found Payton and grown to not only
love the person but understand the value of his unique skill set. It
translated to winning. For the first time, they’d failed to retain one
of their own due to an unwillingness to meet a financial demand.

That upped the front-office urgency heading into the second day of free
agency. They needed to nail down Kevon Looney and find a path toward
rotational recovery to make up for the Payton loss. They’d initially
planned on him returning.

Looney was sealed in the early afternoon. The final details of a
three-year, $25.5 million deal were hashed out in Los Angeles. It’s a
bargain for the Warriors in a market they anticipated wouldn’t flood
cash Looney’s direction. They’re bringing back the starting center on a
title team for a starting salary of $7.8 million next season,
substantially less than Ivica Zubac and Marvin Bagley just received.
Plus the third year on Looney’s deal only has a partial $3 million
guarantee, creating an extra level of flexibility if James Wiseman pops.

Looney’s reasonable number contained the tax bill enough that the
Warriors felt comfortable using a portion of their taxpayer mid-level to
search out a replacement for the departed Payton. Their top target in
that range, per sources, was Donte DiVincenzo, who was believed to have
sitting offers for the full taxpayer mid-level elsewhere.

That was a bit too steep for the Warriors. They still have plans on
rostering second-round pick Ryan Rollins, a combo guard, and need a
chunk of that mid-level to sign him to a multi-year deal. So their final
offer to DiVincenzo was a two-year, $9.3 million pledge with a player
option in that second season. The first season comes in at $4.5 million.

The player option is key from the DiVincenzo side. He has a chance to
enter a winning environment, perform in a probable playoff run and
resurrect an early career that once seemed destined for a larger payday.
If he does that in his debut season with the Warriors, he can walk right
back onto the free-agency market. If he doesn’t, he’s protected with a
second-year player option worth $4.8 million. That flexibility and the
appeal of the Warriors’ shine were enough to convince him to take a bit
less.

The market is unpredictable. A week ago, there was no reason to believe
the Warriors would need to chase down DiVincenzo and, even if Payton did
depart, that he’d be an obtainable replacement option. The Kings opted
for DiVincenzo over two second-round picks in the Bagley trade at the
last deadline. He was set to be a restricted free agent. The assumption
was that Sacramento intended to retain him. They’d been trying to
acquire him for years.

But the Kings rerouted their plans, rescinded his $2.1 million
qualifying offer and quickly signed Malik Monk on the opening day of
free agency and traded for Kevin Huerter. That left DiVincenzo as an
unrestricted free agent in a market that didn’t necessarily plan for his
availability. “He was squeezed,” said one source.

So that left him in the Warriors’ price range and, without Payton, they
pounced, he accepted and several Warriors’ decision-makers were
breathing a sigh of relief Friday night, pairing the Looney return with
the DiVincenzo arrival, solidifying the middle of their projected rotation.

What are the Warriors getting in DiVincenzo? They hope it’s the
pre-injury version from his Milwaukee days. DiVincenzo looked in line
for a bigger contract before tearing a ligament in his foot during a
2021 first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat. He missed six
months and looked a bit limited and rusty upon his eventual return last
December. The Bucks, not wanting to deal with a tricky restricted free
agency and needing interior depth, dealt him for Serge Ibaka in a
four-team trade at this past deadline that landed him in Sacramento.

DiVincenzo’s numbers improved with the Kings. He looked healthier. His
minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals and field-goal percentages
all rose back to his pre-injury form. But the Kings kept him as a bench
player in the final weeks, despite an available starting spot. It was
viewed, because of a starter criteria trigger, as a move to keep his
qualifying offer a couple million lower, altering his market. That was a
preface to an unlikely breakup with the Kings that led to his
availability for the Warriors.

DiVincenzo profiles as a replacement for the Payton minutes. The
Warriors starting lineup and best bench player are set. These are their
top six: Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green,
Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole. But DiVincenzo is the most established
player in that seventh, eighth, ninth man mix, presumably joined by
Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga, walking into larger roles.

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