NBA Rumors: Donte DiVincenzo Didn’t ‘Exactly Love’ Knicks Role Before Towns Trade

Even though the New York Knicks weren’t planning to move on from Donte DiVincenzo this offseason, they decided to include him as part of the package to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns.

Per SNY’s Ian Begley, DiVincenzo “didn’t exactly love the idea” of potentially playing a reduced role for the Knicks since Mikal Bridges likely would have taken his spot in the starting lineup if he stayed with the club.

Begley did note that any potential unhappiness for DiVincenzo likely didn’t factor into New York’s decision to include him in the trade for Towns.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski reported on Friday that the Knicks were sending DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round draft pick via the Detroit Pistons to the Timberolves for Towns.

New York was in the market for another center with Mitchell Robinson likely to be out until at least December while recovering from offseason ankle surgery. Towns is a big swing for an organization that is all-in right now after previously adding Bridges to a core that includes Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby.

After beginning last season coming off the bench, DiVincenzo played his way into the starting five for head coach Tom Thibodeau. The 27-year-old wound up starting 63 games, just the second time in his career he started at least 40 games (66 in 2020-21).

DiVincenzo set career-highs in minutes per game (29.1), scoring average (15.5 points per game) and three-point percentage (40.1) in 2023-24. His 283 made threes ranked third in the NBA, behind Stephen Curry (357) and Luka Dončić (284).

The Timberwolves don’t have a starting job available for DiVincenzo with Anthony Edwards and Mike Conley Jr. in their backcourt, but his three-point shooting ability will almost certainly make him a big part of the closing lineup for head coach Chris Finch.