The Golden State Warriors have already lost some players from their champion team in free agency, but there was an agreement with Kevon Looney on Friday. The champion also secured the services of Donte DiVincenzo.
ESPN Looney will earn $25.5 million with the Warriors over the next three years. The center enjoyed priority among his own free agents at San Francisco, having played all 82 regular-season games and all 22 playoff games last season and was a key player in several series in the postseason.
During the playoffs, the 25-year-old, who has been playing for the Warriors since 2015, averaged 5.8 points and 7.6 rebounds. Game 6 against the Grizzlies was particularly strong, when he got 22 rebounds (playoff career high) or the second game against Dallas, in which he had 21 points and 12 rebounds.
While Looney has been held, the Warriors have lost Nemanja Bjelica (Fenerbahce), Damion Lee (Phoenix), Juan Toscano-Anderson (Lakers), Otto Porter Jr. (Toronto) and Gary Payton II (Portland) in free agency to date. Porter and Payton in particular also played big roles during the postseason.
Warriors grab DiVincenzo replacement
Payton, who switched for 3 years and 28 million dollars, was probably too expensive for the Warriors, who are already deep in the luxury tax. At least a cheaper replacement was found on Saturday night. Donte DiVincenzo is set to join the dubs for two years and $9.3 million.
The 25-year-old was drafted in 17th place by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018 and had become a key rotation player there before he was sidelined with ankle and foot problems and also completely missed the 2021 playoffs when Milwaukee won the championship.
He made his comeback last season before being traded to Sacramento. Overall, he only got 9 points with very weak odds (35 percent from the field), but showed an increasing form towards the end of the season. He still didn’t want to stay with the Kings, Sacramento didn’t make him a qualifying offer either, making him an unrestricted free agent.