Donte DiVincenzo considered a perfect fit for New York Knicks after he declines player option with Warriors

After signing a two-year, $9.2 million contract with Golden State last offseason, Donte Vincenzo finally decided to decline his $4.7 million player option for the upcoming campaign. This means he has become a free agent and he’s already being linked to other NBA clubs this summer.

The six-foot-four guard has been connected with New York, as analysts consider him an ideal fit for the Knicks roster. If he’d land in Manhattan, he would play next to two of his former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.

“He’s always been a winner. He was part of two national titles at Villanova, won a championship with us with the Bucks. He knows what it takes to win,” said former scout Daniel Marks, who saw Donte play up close back when he was in Milwaukee. “He’s not a guy that’s going to color outside the lines. He can defend multiple positions. He plays his ass off. He’s a really good rebounder for a guard.

“He can handle the ball some, he can play in the pick-and-roll. You can play him up in the lineup to guard bigger guys. He’s tough.”

DiVincenzo became part of the Bucks when the Wisconsin team drafted him as the 17th-overall pick in 2018, then traded him to Sacramento four years later as part of a last minute four-team deal.

This past season he played some of his best basketball with the Warriors, averaging 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals over 26.3 minutes per match, while shooting at a career-best 39.7% efficiency from beyond the arc.

When he hit the floor, Golden State outscored their rivals by 2.9 points pero 100 possessions, as he posted a positive 2.9 net rating.

“The thing with Donte is how consistently he can make 3s,” said Marks, who is now chief program strategist for the Howard University men’s basketball program. “If he could shoot in the high 30’s, low 40’s, there’s no way Golden State gets him on that deal last summer and he’s probably a $20-plus million-a-year player because of all the other things he does.

“[With the Bucks], he wasn’t a guy that teams had to totally respect his spacing, so they could sag off him, sort of play Giannis [Antetokounmpo] with help. He’s not a guy that teams feel they need to stay attached to as a shooter coming off screens.”

As DiVincenzo comes from playing one of his best seasons ever, he hits free agency for a second time in his career looking for more minutes

This is the second time in his career that Donte enters free agency, as he expects to land at a franchise that will allow him more play time, especially considering the guard just performed one of his best seasons ever.

It all started when analyst Bill Simmons predicted he would end up playing for the Knicks this upcoming tournament, and finally reunite with Brunson and Hart, who has until Thursday to decide if he will become a free agent or opt into his contract’s final year.

“He would fit I think well. He would give them another tough, hard-nosed player,” Marks insisted. “Obviously, you got Jalen Brunson, you got Josh Hart. These are both guys that he’s familiar with. Those are types of players Thibodeau likes.

“He’s in the mold of a guy that Thibs likes and that Thibs leans on. Some of the stuff that kept Evan Fournier out of the lineup, lacking competitiveness defensively and lack of ability to impact the game without scoring, Donte will make an impact on the game even if he doesn’t score a lot of points.”