Donte DiVincenzo plays with an edge.
He values winning above all else.
And he is known for doing the little things.
That may sound a lot like Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, but it also could be used to describe their onetime Villanova teammate DiVincenzo, the 6-foot-4 guard who has been connected to the Knicks as a free-agent option.
“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 Daniel Marks, a former scout with the Bucks through DiVincenzo’s time with Milwaukee, who now serves as chief program strategist for the Howard University men’s basketball program. “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.”
The Bucks drafted DiVincenzo 17th-overall in 2018, then traded him to the Kings at the 2022 deadline as part of a four-team deal.
He signed a two-year, $9.2 million contract with the Warriors last summer that included a $4.7 million player option for next season.
DiVincenzo declined that option to become a free agent, ESPN reported Tuesday.
DiVincenzo thrived with Golden State, shooting a career-best 39.7 percent from 3-point range and averaging 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.3 minutes per game this past season.
He posted a positive 2.9 net rating, meaning the Warriors outscored their opposition by 2.9 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor.
“The thing with Donte is how consistently he can make 3s,” Marks said of DiVincenzo, a lifetime 36.2 percent 3-point shooter. “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 he hits free agency for the second time, DiVincenzo picked a perfect time to have one of his best seasons.
He could wind up reuniting on the Knicks with Brunson, and possibly Hart, who has until Thursday to opt into the final year of his contract or become a free agent.
DiVincenzo was the highest draft pick of the three Villanova guys, taken 17th, 16 picks before Brunson — his college roommate — was taken by the Mavericks at 33rd overall.
Hart was taken 30th overall in 2017. DiVincenzo was expected to have one year left of college, before a breakout 2018 NCAA Tournament.
He was the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, setting a record for the most points scored (46) by a Final Four reserve.
A few months later, he was a member of the Bucks organization as an unlikely first-round draft pick.
DiVincenzo has stuck in the league, and could give the Knicks three former Villanova stars in the orange and blue.
“He would fit I think well. He would give them another tough, hard-nosed player,” Marks said. “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.”
The first Villanova reunion worked out well for the Knicks.
The acquisition of Hart at the trade deadline helped them finish fifth in the Eastern Conference and win a playoff series for the first time in a decade.
Another reunion could be on the way in a matter of days.
“It’s not a surprise because those guys are all really high IQ [players] and tough,” Marks said. “Thibs emphasizes the same things.”
