The New York Knicks broke the hearts of fans everywhere when they traded Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The reporting in the wake of the deal made it clear that it was a necessary sacrifice to acquire now six-time All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns. But fans weren't happy to see DiVincenzo, who signed a four-year deal with New York and turned in a career-best season in year one, go.
DiVincenzo came off of the bench for the Knicks at first, but didn't look back once he beat out Quentin Grimes for the starting spot. In his first year with the Wolves, though, he started just 10 of 62 games that he played. This year, he's started in all 70 of his appearances. Head coach Chris Finch recently revealed that he was looking to get "New York Knicks Donte" back, a statement that likely has Knick fans everywhere simply shaking their heads.
Timberwolves are finally learning how to optimize DiVincenzo
Finch appeared as a guest on The Ryen Russillo Show, telling its titular host that the preseason adjustment to start DiVincenzo – and get the ball in superstar Anthony Edwards' hands more – was key to the team's success this year. The Timberwolves are 43-27 through Wednesday, good for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Their head coach says the Villanova-product sharpshooter has been a major part of that.
"Coming into the season, we made the decision to start Donte, put the ball in Ant's hands. Real reason was, we needed a better Donte. And Donte was good last year, but we needed the New York Knicks Donte. We needed the guy that could change a game all by himself, and get hot. I don't think he ever had those moments for us last year- sustained moments," Finch clarified to Russillo. "He did it here and there. And he has been great, he has been unbelievable for us."
Thibodeau got it right with DiVincenzo's role
One truth is undeniable: that former Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was the one holding the clipboard when the guard had the best season of his career thus far. But DiVincenzo is still just 29 years old and signed through next season with Minnesota.
Assuming they don't also wind up forced to sacrifice the valuable and versatile shooter for a necessary upgrade, it seems like he's in the right position now and going forward to continue to help them win games.
The Knicks should be hoping to meet back up with DiVincenzo in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. It would mean that they'd made it to the Finals, to compete against some old friends.