Donte DiVincenzo knows exactly what his ex-Knicks teammates are going through

Donte DiVincenzo already has been back once to the Garden, jawing with the Knicks bench and needing to be separated from assistant coach Rick Brunson at the conclusion of a preseason game in October.

But DiVincenzo and teammate Julius Randle will face the Knicks in a game that counts for the first time, Thursday night in Minnesota, since they were dealt away in the blockbuster trade for Karl-Anthony Towns just before the start of training camp.

“I’m still in contact with those guys all the time. It’s still family,“ DiVincenzo said Wednesday after the Timberwolves practiced in Minnesota. “I watch games and everything, but it’s different, a different viewpoint if you will — more so just a fan of the guys that are over there.

“Wish them nothing but success, individually and collectively.”

While Randle is averaging 20.1 points in his return from season-ending shoulder surgery, DiVincenzo has struggled to find his footing with the Timberwolves.

He is posting just 8.3 points and shooting 35.3 percent from the floor and 31.9 percent from 3-point range in 25 games (two starts) after connecting at a 40.1 clip from long distance in his lone season with the Knicks.

“Donte is a good player,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He was terrific with us. So it’s part of the game, and you just play. At the end of the day, it’s what you do in totality.”

Said DiVincenzo: “I think, a) it’s not normal to make a trade the day before media day. Both sides, it takes time to adjust. Great things take time. On our side, I believe that, but also on their side. I think KAT’s playing really well, but it’s going to take time to mesh, for other guys to adjust to what he does.”

Josh Hart similarly said last week — and he and Jalen Brunson reiterated Wednesday — that DiVincenzo and Randle were a huge part of the Knicks’ identity last season.

They acknowledged that the current squad is still trying to establish its identity despite a 16-10 start, and Towns averaging 24.8 points and 13.9 rebounds per game.

“Like I said, it’s an adjustment,” DiVincenzo said. “KAT was here for, what was it, nine years? The guy was here for nine years. Same thing.

“When he leaves here, there’s a hole, there’s a void of what he brought. In the same way, even though I was there for a year, even though Julius missed half the year, he was there for five years. There’s something when a guy spends that much time in an organization, they’re around people, you just get accustomed to what you’re going to get every single day. So coming here, just try to be yourself.”

As for his dustup with the elder Brunson and the Knicks bench in the preseason, DiVincenzo said the incident is behind them.

“Family talks, family moves forward. That’s it,” said DiVincenzo — who also was a teammate of Jalen Brunson, Hart and first-year Knick Mikal Bridges at Villanova. “I wish them — obviously that situation, but every single person over there — I wish nonstop individual success, collective success.

“I want the same for everybody over here. That’s all it is. Families talk and families move forward.”

Brunson agreed with his close friend, saying, “That dude, I call [DiVincenzo] a little hothead, and he’s always been that way. But I mean, that’s my brother, and regardless of what happens, that’s family.”

— Additional reporting by Stefan Bondy