Donte DiVincenzo shocked Kings decided to part ways before Warriors called

DiVincenzo surprised by Kings’ decision to part ways originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

The Kings’ offseason got off to an unexpected started in late June when they declined to send Donte DiVincenzo a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

That came as a surprise to the 25-year-old wing, who was acquired by Sacramento at the 2021-22 trade deadline as part of a four-team deal.

“I’m telling my girl that anything can happen in free agency, but be prepared to come back,” DiVincenzo said in an interview with The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “Look for houses, look for this. I was full-in on the Kings.”

In 25 games with Sacramento last season, DiVincenzo averaged 10.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He drained 36.8 percent of his attempts from deep, a higher mark than his clip of 34.3 percent over three-and-a-half seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks.

“Obviously, they tested out how I’d fit in their system and just chose to go a different direction,” DiVincenzo told Slater. “It’s the business. Maybe it seemed like my numbers didn’t show I was going to be completely healthy moving forward. But in my head, I knew I was going to have a full offseason and toward the end of the season, I was like, ‘Damn, I’m starting to feel really good.’

DiVincenzo’s best performance in a Kings uniform came on April 1, a road game against the Houston Rockets. In 30 minutes, DiVincenzo tallied 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

“In Houston, I was like one assist away from a triple-double,” DiVincenzo told Slater. “I was starting to get that swagger, that confidence, that pop back. I was pumped to come back.”

DiVincenzo went on to sign with the Warriors, giving the defending champions depth at wing. The Kings went on to address their need at the position, signing Malik Monk in free agency and trading for Kevin Huerter.

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Although he only spent about three months in Sacramento, DiVincenzo had nothing but positive things to say about the Kings organization.

“The Kings have this, I guess, reputation with the [16-year] playoff drought, this and that,” he told Slater. “People say things aren’t how they’re supposed to be. I had a lot of great experiences there. There’s always so much turnover and transition, it’s hard — one for players, the other for coaches — it’s hard to build that trust and that framework when people are going out the door.

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“But I’d thought I found my home. Domas (Sabonis) and I were always together, talking about what we are going to build in the future. It was super fun. The guys were extremely cool.”

DiVincenzo will reunite with his old teammates when Sacramento visits the Warriors at Chase Center on Oct. 23.