Golden State Warriors: Did they get worse or better this summer?

The Warriors’ losses are big but…

It’s true: Golden State didn’t have the ability to retain several players who were instrumental in its success. Both Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II were part of the eight athletes who played the most minutes either in the regular season or Playoffs.

Their contributions were vital: while the new member of the Toronto Raptors solidified their shooting and made them more versatile, the brand new guard of the Portland Trail Blazers emerged as one of its most effective defenders and complemented that with a small but valuable job in the offensive field.

They also lost Juan Toscano Anderson, Damion Lee and Nemanja Bjelica, but their roles -especially in the postseason- weren’t that important.

But, within that scenario, Bob Myers knew how to move quickly and smartly to find replacements that were up to the task: to fill the void left by GPII, he and his crew chose Donte DiVincenzo. The 6-foot-4 guard could be one of the greatest under-the-radar additions of this offseason.

As a guy who knows what it is to be part of a championship team -one NCAA title with Villanova and one in the NBA with Milwaukee Bucks-, DiVincenzo can bring a lot to the table: he is a versatile defender and, despite not being as good as Payton II in that manner, has a good combination of size, wingspan and agility to improve Warriors perimetral defense.

Also, he is more complete offensively than The Glove’s son. His shooting ability -shot 37,9% from three in his last healthy season-, mixed with a way better handle and game vision, will be a breath of fresh air for the second unit.

JaMychal Green was the move to replace Porter Jr. It could be said that they are quite similar profiles: the former Nugget is a versatile veteran who can perform as a 3&D. Not much else to say on this one: Golden State went after the same things they lost.