After winning the 2022 NBA championship, the Golden State Warriors‘ offseason got off to a poor start.
They lost Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr. and Juan Toscano-Anderson in free agency, which, to a degree, weakened their bench.
But on Friday, the team got free agent wing Donte DiVincenzo to agree to a two-year, $9.3 million contract.
Free agent Donte DiVincenzo has agreed to a two-year, $9.3 million deal with the Golden State Warriors, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Player option in Year 2.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2022
It was an important move, as the Warriors needed to replenish their wing depth and make sure Jordan Poole isn’t their only option off the bench at that spot.
DiVincenzo is a 3-and-D wing, but he isn’t your ordinary 3-and-D wing, of which there are many in today’s NBA.
In fact, he has an important quality that will help him thrive inside of the Warriors’ successful team culture.
DiVincenzo Has Played On A Championship Team Before
DiVincenzo, a native of Delaware, was the 17th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
He quickly became a key member of the rotation of a team that finished with the league’s best record in each of the following two seasons, and he emerged as a reliable spot-up shooter and defender.
The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 9.2 points in 23.0 minutes per game in the 2019-20 season while ranking among the league leaders in defensive win shares, defensive rating and defensive box plus/minus.
The following year, he improved his 3-point accuracy to 37.9 percent while playing a career-high 27.5 minutes per game.
Unfortunately, he suffered an ankle injury in the first round of the playoffs and was unable to return for the rest of Milwaukee’s run to the world championship.
However, his experience playing for a team that had been a top title contender for three years learned from two painful playoff losses and finally won it all will serve him well in Golden State.
From a technical standpoint, his ability to be a decent catch-and-shoot 3-point marksman, along with his ability to defend at a relatively high level, should endear him to head coach Steve Kerr pretty fast.
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The Warriors Still Have A Serious Hole In The Frontcourt
With Porter and Toscano-Anderson departing, the Warriors need to move fast to plug the hole they have created up front.
Porter played a key role this past season as a 6-foot-8 forward who could play the 3 and the 4, hit 3-pointers and bother opponents with his length.
He shot 37.0 percent from beyond the arc during the regular season and increased that mark to 40.4 percent in the playoffs.
Toscano-Anderson found himself on the edge of Kerr’s rotation, but his outside shooting and toughness made him a fairly reliable option whenever he did get any real playing time.
With stars such as LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George lurking in the Western Conference, the Warriors cannot afford to see a major drop-off in their production on either end of the floor when Andrew Wiggins and/or Draymond Green are resting.
At this point, the pickings are slim on the free agent market, especially with T.J. Warren, a 6-foot-8 forward who could’ve been a nice option, opting to sign with the Brooklyn Nets.
NEXT: NBA Champion Says Warriors Veteran Will Leave The Team This Offseason
