Donte DiVencenzo Expected Celtics Trade?

Donte DiVincenzo has done a lot of moving in the last few months. He began the 2021-22 season with the Milwaukee Bucks, the team that drafted him No. 17 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. DiVincenzo got a late start to the season because of an ankle injury that was suffered during the team’s first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat in 2021.

He didn’t make his season debut until Christmas Day, but he lasted only three games before being sidelined again. The Villanova product would miss five more games and would play in only 14 more with the Bucks before they traded him.

This was a long time coming as DiVincenzo was involved in multiple trade rumors and was already dealt once. The Bogdan Bogdanovic sign-and-trade that the NBA nixed involved DiVincenzo as part of the package heading back to the Sacramento Kings. He also was under the belief that he would be part of the trade package that landed Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans.

Ultimately, he did end up with the Kings, as he was traded there ahead of the 2022 deadline as part of a four-team deal that also included the Detroit Pistons and LA Clippers. Nine players and three draft picks were part of the deal.

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Donte DiVincenzo, Golden State Warriors & Boston Celtics Updates

When recently talking to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, DiVincenzo revealed that it wasn’t the Sacramento Kings he was expecting to get traded to from the Milwaukee Bucks. Instead, he thought that he was on his way to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Dennis Schroder.

“So when the trade deadline came, I didn’t know what to expect,” DiVincenzo said. “I’d heard a ton of rumors. I was in a place where, you know, I loved playing with those guys, but mentally I did wonder if a change of scenery would help. Because I was going into free agency as well. I was still focused on both sides of things. So when I got traded, I was all over the place. Is this great? Is this bad? I thought I was going to Boston.”

“Dennis Schröder,” he said. “I think I was supposed to go for Dennis Schröder to Boston. I don’t know what happened. Somebody might’ve wanted too much. But that was my impression, that I was going to Boston. The Sacramento one came out of nowhere.”

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Donte DiVincenzo, Golden State Warriors & Boston Celtics Updates

DiVincenzo was solid with the Sacramento Kings, averaging 10.3 points to go along with 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He appeared in 25 games with them but departed in free agency.

This was the third move in less than a year for him, as he signed a two-year deal with the Golden State Warriors. He will be part of the group tasked with replacing the production of Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr., two rotation players that departed the Bay Area in free agency.