With the 2022 NBA trade deadline coming up quickly, there are many rumors about what the Milwaukee Bucks will be looking to do to upgrade their roster.
One player on the rumor mill has been Donte DiVincenzo. To many, it appears that the writing has been on the wall for DiVincenzo for quite some time. With the emergence of Pat Connaughton and the pre-season extension of Grayson Allen, it would seem that the team has just about moved on from DiVincenzo.
The Bucks have always had a lot of confidence in DiVincenzo. With his name being involved in recent trade rumors, that confidence may be fading. With that, the Bucks should pump the brakes and consider holding onto DiVincenzo past the trade deadline.
The Milwaukee Bucks should keep Donte DiVincenzo past trade deadline
Donte DiVincenzo has been with the Bucks since 2018.
The team drafted DiVincenzo with the 17th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Since then, he has been a key part of the Milwaukee Bucks rotation.
One thing that may not be considered by the people who are calling for DiVincenzo to be traded is chemistry. Over his four-year career so far, he has built relationships with the key Bucks players. If the team is to trade DiVincenzo, they risk ruining their chemistry.
Chemistry issues have existed around the NBA over the years. The most prominent example is James Harden and Chris Paul on the Rockets. Even though the Rockets had plenty of success with those two on the team, their relationship on the court was nonexistent. While Milwaukee probably wouldn’t bring in somebody that could impact their locker room that drastically, any negative energy in a locker room is not something that a team enjoys having.
The team isn’t taking too huge of a risk keeping DiVincenzo due to his contract status. DiVincenzo will likely become a restricted free agent when the season ends, which means the ball is in Milwaukee’s court when it comes to where DiVincenzo will be playing next season. While the the team will offer DiVincenzo a qualifying offer, he likely won’t accept and become a restricted free agent.
The Bucks will have complete control over whether or not DiVincenzo returns. If a team offers DiVincenzo a contract in a range that Milwaukee is willing to pay, they can keep him for the long-term without having to make the contract offer themselves.
A lot of people forget that DiVincenzo is only 25 years old and only in his fourth NBA season. In his first three seasons, he showed signs of a player that could be a key player for Milwaukee. He hasn’t been the same so far this season, but he also is coming off of a severe injury that didn’t allow him to do much practicing this offseason.
If the team chooses to bring him back next season, they will be betting on DiVincenzo returning to form, or maybe being even better than he was prior to his injury after getting a full offseason to work on his craft.
There is still a lot of potential in DiVincenzo and as one of his biggest supporters, I hate to see that he is a potential trade candidate. That is just the unfortunate reality of the what the NBA is though. It’s a business and if Milwaukee chooses to move on, it’s because they believe that moving on is best for the team and franchise.