Insider Closes Door on Former Knicks Guard Trade Rumors

According to a report from longtime NBA insider Marc Stein, New York Knicks fans’ Donte DiVincenzo jerseys will remain in storage.

While a slow start in the Midwest partly fed a rumor that the Minnesota Timberwolves would place DiVincenzo on the trade block, Stein’s latest newsletter snuff that out, claiming that the recent Western Conference finalists will be patient with the ex-New Yorker.

“I saw all kinds of Twitter chatter Friday about the supposed status of Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo as a trade target for contending teams,” Stein said. “That runs counter to everything I’ve heard about the Wolves, who wanted DiVincenzo for more than a year before they actually acquired him and are said to have zero interest in fielding inquiries for him not yet three full months into his Wolves tenure.”

DiVincenzo was sent to Minneapolis with Julius Randle in the deal that acquired Karl-Anthony Towns. Though DiVincenzo spent but one year in a Knick uniform, he left a lasting impression thanks to his prowess from deep (hitting a Knicks single-season record 283 three-pointers) and his collaboration with fellow Villanova Wildcats alumni Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.

DiVincenzo has struggled to live up to last season in his first tours as a Timberwolf: through 15 games, he is averaging only 9.5 points per game and his three-point success rate has dipped to 32.4, nearly eight points lower than what he was sinking last season. Like the Knicks, Minnesota (8-7) as a whole has had trouble living up to the hype that followed landmark playoff runs on next year’s bracket.

Even if the Knicks made a run at DiVincenzo’s services, they don’t have much to offer in terms of draft capital, most of which was was sent away in the deals that acquired Towns and Mikal Bridges. In addition to carrying a crowded backcourt picture, the Knicks also have started to make up for DiVincenzo’s greatest lost skill, as they have tried at least 39 three-pointers in each of the last four games, including 51 in Saturday’s defeat in Utah.

The Knicks (9-7) will face DiVincenzo in his new settings next month. In the meantime, they take on the Denver Nuggets in part three of a five-stage road trip on Monday (9 p.m. ET, MSG2).

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