Day 2 of NBA free agency may not have been as action-packed as opening night, but there was still no shortage of big NBA news throughout the day. The Milwaukee Bucks were once again heavily involved in the day’s festivities as they locked up starting center Brook Lopez to a two-year, $48 million deal. Moreover, although not as significant as the Lopez signing (or the Khris Middleton extension from Friday), Milwaukee also retained the services of Jae Crowder for another year.
While overall it has been a highly successful past couple of days for the Bucks, they did also miss out on one particular free agent that was linked to a potential return to Milwaukee. This comes in the form of ex-Bucks champ and former fan favorite Donte DiVincenzo.
Donte DiVincenzo Rebuffs Golden State Warriors To Sign With New York Knicks
DiVincenzo entered NBA free agency after deciding to decline his player option with the Golden State Warriors, which was worth $4.73 million. The 26-year-old bet on himself and boy did it work out for him.
According to ESPN’s NBA guru Adrian Wojnarowski, DiVincenzo has now agreed to a massive four-year deal with the Bucks’ Eastern Conference rivals, the New York Knicks, for a whopping $50 million:
Free agent G Donte DiVincenzo has agreed on a four-year, $50 million contract with the New York Knicks, Jason Glushon of @GlushonSM tells ESPN. DiVincenzo reunites with his Villanova title teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart to bolster the Eastern Conference semifinalists. pic.twitter.com/MSr1wXS4GC
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
From earning $4.5 million with the Warriors last season, DiVincenzo will now jump to $12.5 million per year, which is nearly triple what he would have pocketed had he opted into his player option with Golden State.
Needless to say, Donte DiVincenzo just got paid.
Donte DiVincenzo’s Milwaukee Bucks Reunion Just A Pipe Dream?
As soon as news broke that DiVincenzo had turned down his contract with the Warriors, more than a few Bucks fans were quick to call for a potential Milwaukee comeback for the 6-foot-4 shooting guard. Bucks supporters remember Donte well after having spent the first three and a half years of his career with the Bucks.
In the middle of the 2021-22 season, Milwaukee traded DiVincenzo to the Sacramento Kings as part of a four-team trade that saw Serge Ibaka join the Bucks. Donte entered free agency at the end of that season and he signed with the then-defending champs Warriors.
Given the amount of money the Knicks had to shell out to acquire the services of DiVincenzo, it does seem that the Bucks weren’t really in the race to begin with. The fans would have loved to see Donte back, but given the team’s salary cap situation, it now appears that this was all just a pipe dream.
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