Knicks Are Past Need for Donte DiVincenzo

Like any parent trying to dissuade a child from a gaudy, garish–and most importantly, expensive–Christmas gift: you don’t need it, New York Knicks fans.

ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel energized a sleepy NBA Friday with a report indicating that Minnesota Timberwolves shooter Donte DiVincenzo was “being viewed as a possible trade candidate for several contending teams around the league.” Siegel clarified that there were “no indications that the Timberwolves will want to move their newly acquired guard,” but that has hardy proved worthy of stopping Knicks’ fans unbridled enthusiasm for nostalgia and gossip.

It’s not like picturing DiVincenzo in a Knicks jersey requires any imagination considering he was on the roster less than two months ago and left Manhattan as a record-holder after but one tour (most successful three-pointers in a single season).

That doesn’t even get into the Main Line myth that never got to take the floor, as the “‘Nova Knicks” concept reached maximum overdrive when Mikal Bridges was added to a fold that already featured DiVincenzo, Jalen Brunson, and Josh Hart. It never came to pass, as DiVincenzo and Julius Randle were traded to Minnesota to obtain Karl-Anthony Towns’ services. Siegel’s report has re-opened hope that the foursome will one day take to Madison Square Graden hardwood as teammates beyond the Big East Tournament.

But the Knicks face enough flack for their conception of being stuck in the past, forever subjecting itself to the purgatory of turn-of-the-century hijinks and championships won before most major cable networks came on the air. Why yearn for the golden year of … 2024?

This temptation carries no sin: the Knicks’ early struggles, particularly from deep, had many waxing for the nostalgia of mere weeks, especially when Bridges and Towns were struggling to live up to their incoming hype. So it was fair to wonder if the best move the Knicks’ could’ve made was none at all, especially considering how DiVincenzo was sent away mere days before training camp.

But does DiVincenzo change the Knicks’ championship fortunes? It’s not likely, and the fact that there’s no desirable spot in the starting five for DiVincenzo is only the first reason why.

The newest ideas of the Knicks adding players–this season has already conjured up dreams of Giannis Antetokounmpo with New York on his chest–have been met with resistance in the form of being thankful for what the Garden already has, as New York has gone all in a group headlined by Brunson and Towns. To admit defeat on their lieutenants (because Minnesota certainly won’t be swayed by draft picks that are probably still in grade school) so early in the process would eat away at the psyche of the modern New Yorkers and eat away at the progress developed by the floor unit’s Brunson era.

The Knicks’ three-point efforts, partially energized by Towns’ famed spacing and OG Anunoby and Cameron Payne’s insertion into the offensive game, have stabilized well enough to afford them the opportunity to linger and even dominate shootouts. It’s defense that stands at the Knicks’ biggest problem and while DiVincenzo’s defense has been decent enough in recent seasons, it’s not going to move the Knicks’ championship needle.

As it stands, the Knicks are in the relatively same position where they were last season: fully capable of scoring and hitting/trying from deep (10th in successful threes per game and 21st in attempts after sitting in the lower fifth over the first decade). All that’s missing is the defense and that’s far from DiVincenzo’s forte. If the Knicks want to solve this issue, sticking with what they have and holding just a little bit of patience–namely when it comes to waiting out Mitchell Robinson’s rehab–will be the key to moving forward rather than a DiVincenzo-based mea culpa.

New York was also a team starting to inch away from key cogs, no matter how much they’ve endeared themselves to the organization. Only five players from the 2023-24 season’s opening night roster are still on the team and only three men in that group actually played in that loss to Boston. There’s no use in crawling back to DiVincenzo, especially when the deal that sent him away in the first place left them with little to give anyway. But even if DiVincenzo, whose primary averages have dramatically dipped in Minneapolis found a second wind upon a potential return to Manhattan, the Knicks are no longer the NBA’s answer to career rehab.

If the Knicks want to indulge in nostalgics, they’re far better off being patient with Mitchell Robinson, who is due to return in winter in what should no doubt shore up their defense. New York is already capable of holding its own in shootouts but, in this day and age, racing to 120 points every night isn’t a sustainable plan of attack for a championship contender.

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