Donte DiVincenzo will not be finding his way back to the New York Knicks by the trade deadline after all.
Kris Pursiainen originally reported for ClutchPoints that the Knicks held “exploratory discussions” with the Minnesota Timberwolves about DiVincenzo’s availability. While a reunion is perfectly desirable, the logistical hurdles needed to actualize it are daunting.
That is ultimately why no deal is expected to materialize, according to SNY’s Ian Begley. As he writes in his latest mailbag:
“With regards to any movement, I’ve checked around on this for the past few days and haven’t heard about any significant movement. People on all sides of a potential trade see it as highly unlikely. I’m not questioning the ClutchPoints report on DiVincenzo and the Knicks, but I don’t think there is anything happening there. The Knicks would have to trade either Josh Hart or Mitchell Robinson to make a deal work.”
On the bright side, Begley spotlighting the complexity of any DiVincenzo-to-New York deal isn’t tantamount to kiboshing it altogether. But the Knicks would need a lot to work in their favor to re-acquire Donte while retaining Hart and Robinson.
Here’s how the Knicks can trade for Donte DiVincenzo without moving Josh Hart or Mitchell Robinson
DiVincenzo is on the books for around $12 million. Since the Knicks are over the first apron, they cannot take back more money than they send out. So, they’ll need to ship out at least $12 million worth of players to make the math work.
Combining Guerschon Yabusele ($5.5 million), Deuce McBride ($4.3 million), and Pacome Dadiet ($2.8 million) comes out to around $12.6 million. Saving more than $600,000 would allow the Knicks to make the trade, and have enough money to sign another two players to meet the roster-minimum threshold.
Here’s the catch: The Timberwolves won’t do that deal. They are over the first apron themselves, so they can’t take back more money than DiVincenzo is making. More crucially, they’re not getting enough out of this package to justify forking over a starter.
Dadiet has not shown nearly enough to be considered an asset. And the Knicks, at this point, must attach assets to get off Yabusele’s deal. Even if they include the pick slated to become the Washington Wizards’ next two second-rounders, this won’t be nearly enough to get the Timberwolves and a third-party facilitator to bite.
The Knicks’ DiVincenzo dream may still be alive, but only barely
New York can try enticing the Wolves by additional means. Perhaps another team values Washington’s seconds and the prospect of Knicks first-round swaps so much that it would send Minnesota someone (or something) juicy enough to get it to part with DiVincenzo.
Don’t count on it, though.
Never mind the functional gymnastics involved. If the Knicks are jettisoning first-round swaps, McBride, and those Wizards seconds in the same deal, they may need to think bigger than DiVincenzo. Not necessarily a bigger name, per se, but a bigger player—a bigger wing, to be more exact.
Then again, McBride alone has a ton of value as a three-and-D-plus-more guard who will earn under $4 million next season. Maybe the Knicks view him as semi-expendable following the emergence of Tyler Kolek. That feels unlikely, but it’s more feasible if they also expect Landry Shamet to return this season.
Either way, Begley’s reporting doesn’t totally shut the door on a DiVincenzo reunion. It is, however, a good reminder that the Knicks can’t get it done without making some real sacrifices.