LAS VEGAS — Steve Kerr has a prediction: Donte DiVincenzo will be a Tom Thibodeau favorite.
“He’s going to love him,” the Warriors’ coach told The Post during one of Golden State’s summer league games at the Thomas & Mack Center. “Tom’s going to love him, because Donte is a grinder. He’s gritty and he plays hard every possession. Tom is going to love that.”
So far, the 6-foot-4 guard has been the Knicks’ biggest move of the offseason, along with the trade of Obi Toppin to the Pacers for two future second-round picks.
DiVincenzo was signed to a four-year, $50 million deal, which the team announced on Saturday, reuniting him with former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.
In a statement, team president Leon Rose raved about DiVincenzo, saying he is a “perfect fit to the culture we continue to establish.”
It’s a significant pay day for DiVincenzo, who declined his $4.7 million player option with Golden State after a strong year in the Bay Area.
“His competitiveness is going to fit right in. The Knicks really struck me as a competitive group last year,” Kerr said. “Thibs’ is going to love him, then the Villanova connection with Josh and Jalen. That’s real, those guys are champions together from college. I think that connection will help, and then he’ll give them another two-way player, another guy who can handle the ball and play off of it, and defend on the other end. Guys like that are super-valuable.”
The Warriors’ biggest question with the 26-year-old DiVincenzo after signing him to a two-year, $9.3 million contract was durability and health.
He played in just a combined 42 games in 2021-22 due to a severe left ankle injury.
But that wasn’t an issue last season.
He appeared in a career-high 72 contests (36 starts) and shot a personal best 39.7 percent from 3-point range on 5.3 attempts (he’s a career 36.2 percent 3-point shooter in five NBA seasons).
He averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.3 minutes.
DiVincenzo posted a positive 2.9 NET rating, meaning the Warriors outscored the opposition by 2.9 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor.
“He worked. He was in the gym every day working on his shot,” Kerr said. “It just took him a few weeks — he started out a little slowly — and then once he was healthy and really found his rhythm playing 28, 30 minutes every night, he really caught fire. It was not unexpected, because we knew what he was capable of.
“Love Donte. Plays with so much energy and passion every night. He’s just tough. He competes every possession, gets into the ball-handler, flies all over the court, great rebounder flying in from the weak side. Shot it really well for us last year. Combo guard, makes plays, but can play off the ball, too.
Really good all-around player.”
