Golden State Warriors select Donte DiVincenzo in redraft

If you go back in time, the Golden State Warriors would’ve taken Donte DiVincenzo, the breakout star of the 2018 NCAA Championship.

The Golden State Warriors originally selected Jacob Evans III in the 2018 NBA Draft. However, if you go back in time, it appears they’d have taken Donte DiVincenzo. The only problem with Bleacher Report’s redraft is that the Warriors wouldn’t have been able to select DiVincenzo.

Surprisingly taken with the No. 17 overall pick, DiVincenzo hasn’t quite lived up to his near-lottery selection. Playing in under 30 games for Milwaukee, DiVincenzo is averaging fewer than five points per game and has shot under 40% in those games.

While Evans is far from a finished product, he’s struggled to find his place on a top-heavy Warriors roster. There aren’t many players, let alone rookies, that get quality minutes for Golden State. Coming into the season, we knew this would be the case though.

In 21 games of action, Evans has scored just 0.6 points per game. He’s shooting 26.1% from the field and even worse from downtown. This just hasn’t been the same speed as Evans is used to, and in limited minutes, he’s struggled to really get the feel for the NBA.

People will always judge rookies before they’re fully developed, but so far, we haven’t seen anything from either of these players that would warrant a first-round selection. As for the former Villanova standout, Bleacher Report claims Golden State would be the perfect place because of their offensive star power.

"The Bucks may have reached on DiVincenzo, whose offense is behind. Golden State would be a suitable destination for his development. With the Warriors, he’d be able to focus strictly on effort and defense while letting the scoring chances come to him."

This was the original plan for Jacob Evans. While a different route has been taken for the Cincinnati-alum, both still have potential be solid players at the NBA level. As for now, fans can see Evans on the Santa Cruz Warriors, the Golden State Warriors’ G-League affiliate.

There Evans can score at will and hopefully become a more well-rounded player. It will be a few years till we see him fully developed, but at the very least, Evans should be a solid 3-and-D player for the distant future.

Time will tell if the Warriors messed by picking Evans over a second-round talent.