Signing with the Golden State Warriors took Donte DiVincenzo by surprise. After being dealt to the Sacramento Kings at last season's trade deadline, DiVincenzo assumed he'd found a long-term home 90 minutes northeast of Chase Center. But the Kings ultimately went a different direction in the backcourt, pulling the former first-round pick's qualifying offer to make him an unrestricted free agent, landing him with the Warriors.
Several months before that summer whirlwind, though, another path almost taken would've eventually made DiVincenzo a heated Golden State foe in the NBA Finals. As told to Anthony Slater of The Athletic in a must-read interview, DiVincenzo originally believed the Milwaukee Bucks were sending him to the Boston Celtics at the deadline instead of Sacramento.
“So when the trade deadline came, I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I’d heard a ton of rumors. I was in a place where, you know, I loved playing with those guys, but mentally I did wonder if a change of scenery would help. Because I was going into free agency as well. I was still focused on both sides of things. So when I got traded, I was all over the place. Is this great? Is this bad? I thought I was going to Boston.”
Wait, the Celtics? In what trade?
“Dennis Schröder,” DiVincenzo explained. “I think I was supposed to go for Dennis Schröder to Boston. I don’t know what happened. Somebody might’ve wanted too much. But that was my impression, that I was going to Boston. The Sacramento one came out of nowhere.”
Milwaukee ultimately moved DiVincenzo to the Kings last February in a nondescript four-team trade that also included the LA Clippers and Detroit Pistons.
Still recovering from the rough left ankle injury that sidelined him midway through the Bucks 2021 title run, DiVincenzo struggled early in Sacramento, beginning to find his footing as last season came to a close. He stuffed the stat sheet with 10.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game with the Kings, shooting 36.8% from deep.
DiVincenzo will occupy a more complementary role with the Warriors than he did farther north, playing off Golden States stars and doing the grunt work that made him seem like a pre-injury fixture alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee. He acquitted himself well during Golden State's initial training camp practices and preseason action in Tokyo, finishing with nine points, seven rebounds, two assists and two triples in the exhibition opener.
At his best, Donte DiVincenzo is the type of player who can fit anywhere. His new team clearly understands that reality, and in a different world, he might've proven it with the Celtics in June.
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