How did Warriors get Donte DiVincenzo and what does he bring to them?

Bob Myers warned of an eventual salary limit, an undefined financial threshold where Joe Lacob would finally say no. That red light came on the first night of free agency. The Golden State Warriors let Gary Payton II walk. They offered him the taxpayer mid-level, which sits at $6.4 million. He received north of $8 million from Portland, plus an extra year on an incentivized deal.

The difference in the tax penalty — somewhere around $15 million extra in the immediate, a whole lot more throughout a longer-term deal — caused Lacob and the Warriors to balk. It stung several in the organization, per sources. They’d found Payton and grown to not only love the person but also understand the value of his unique skill set. It translated to winning. For the first time, they’d failed to retain one of their own due to an unwillingness to meet a financial demand.

That upped the front-office urgency heading into the second day of free agency. The Warriors needed to nail down Kevon Looney and find a path toward rotational recovery to make up for the Payton loss. They’d initially planned on him returning.

Looney was sealed in the early afternoon. The final details of a three-year, $25.5 million deal were hashed out in Los Angeles. It’s a bargain for the Warriors in a market they anticipated wouldn’t flood cash Looney’s direction. They’re bringing back the starting center on a title team for a starting salary of $7.8 million next season, substantially less than Ivica Zubac and Marvin Bagley just received. Plus the third year on Looney’s deal only has a partial $3 million guarantee, creating an extra level of flexibility if James Wiseman pops.

Looney’s reasonable number contained the tax bill enough that the Warriors felt comfortable using a portion of their taxpayer mid-level to search out a replacement for the departed Payton. Their top target in that range, per sources, was Donte DiVincenzo, who was believed to have sitting offers for the full taxpayer mid-level elsewhere.

That was a bit too steep for the Warriors. They still have plans on rostering second-round pick Ryan Rollins, a combo guard, and need a chunk of that mid-level to sign him to a multi-year deal. So their final offer to DiVincenzo was a two-year, $9.3 million pledge with a player option in that second season. The first season comes in at $4.5 million.

The player option is key from the DiVincenzo side. He has a chance to enter a winning environment, perform in a probable playoff run and resurrect an early career that once seemed destined for a larger payday. If he does that in his debut season with the Warriors, he can walk right back onto the free-agency market. If he doesn’t, he’s protected with a second-year player option worth $4.8 million. That flexibility and the appeal of the Warriors’ shine were enough to convince him to take a bit less.

The market is unpredictable. A week ago, there was no reason to believe the Warriors would need to chase down DiVincenzo and, even if Payton did depart, that he’d be an obtainable replacement option. The Kings opted for DiVincenzo over two second-round picks in the Bagley trade at the last deadline. He was set to be a restricted free agent. The assumption was that Sacramento intended to retain him. The team had been trying to acquire him for years.

But the Kings rerouted their plans, rescinded his $6.6 million qualifying offer and quickly signed Malik Monk on the opening day of free agency and traded for Kevin Huerter. That left DiVincenzo as an unrestricted free agent in a market that didn’t necessarily plan for his availability. “He was squeezed,” said one source.

So that left him in the Warriors’ price range and, without Payton, they pounced, he accepted and several Warriors’ decision-makers were breathing a sigh of relief Friday night, pairing the Looney return with the DiVincenzo arrival, solidifying the middle of their projected rotation.

What are the Warriors getting in DiVincenzo? They hope it’s the pre-injury version from his Milwaukee days. DiVincenzo looked in line for a bigger contract before tearing a ligament in his foot during a 2021 first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat. He missed six months and looked a bit limited and rusty upon his eventual return last December. The Bucks, not wanting to deal with a tricky restricted free agency and needing interior depth, dealt him for Serge Ibaka in a four-team trade at this past deadline that landed him in Sacramento.

DiVincenzo’s numbers improved with the Kings. He looked healthier. His minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals and field-goal percentages all rose back to his pre-injury form. But the Kings kept him as a bench player in the final weeks, despite an available starting spot. It was viewed, because of a starter criteria trigger, as a move to keep his qualifying offer a couple million lower, altering his market. That was a preface to an unlikely breakup with the Kings that led to…