The Golden State Warriors are on the verge of losing Donte DiVincenzo, with confirmation on Tuesday that the 26-year-old is opting out of his $4.7 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent.
The Warriors can only offer DiVincenzo $5.4 million in free agency, an offer that’s well below the expected $10+ million per season that he’s likely to receive from rivals. It means he’s almost assuredly departing the franchise after just one season.
With only minimum contracts available, the Golden State Warriors will have a tough time replacing Donte DiVincenzo in free agency.
There’s a chance the Warriors have no plans on replacing DiVincenzo via the free agent market, rather holding comfortable with their internal options. His departure has been likely for months, and undoubtedly played a part in the Warriors’ decision to re-acquire Gary Payton II for James Wiseman at February’s trade deadline.
Moses Moody is another whom Golden State could foreseeably see taking a large portion of DiVincenzo’s minutes next season. After an up-and-down regular season where he was often out of Steve Kerr’s rotation, the perspective on Moody changed drastically after a surprising impact during the playoffs.
Even if the Warriors plan on replacing DiVincenzo in free agency, there’ll be limited options available to them on a minimum contract. Make no mistake, there’s almost no one obtainable that’s going to have the same kind of impact that the 2021 NBA champion in 2022-23.
DiVincenzo is a high level three-and-D player who also has the ability to handle the ball in a secondary playmaking role. He’s also an excellent guard rebounder, averaging 4.5 boards for Golden State this season.
The Warriors won’t acquire someone with the exact same skillset of DiVincenzo, but instead may target a similar positional player who can add a different element. Here are three potential guard options for the Warriors in free agency.