Report: Donte DiVincenzo “didn’t love the idea” of a reduced role

As Friday became Saturday and the hours passed, more information about the New Era Knicks slowly but surely started to emerge.

Following the unofficial announcement of the blockbuster trade between the New York Knicks and the Minnesota Timberwolves that will swap Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, SNY’s Ian Begley has shared a key nugget of information related to the latter man.

Begley suggested on Saturday that Donte DiVincenzo was truly unhappy and dissatisfied with the new role Tom Thibodeau had crafted for him ahead of next season, one in which he’d come off the pine and play fewer minutes compared to last season.

According to Begley, reporting on Sept. 28, DiVincenzo “didn’t love the idea” of playing fewer minutes coming off the bench on a reduced role.

“I can say confidently that DiVincenzo didn’t exactly love the idea of playing fewer minutes/a reduced role this season. He was coming off of a career year and helped the team win a ton of games when it was shorthanded.” — Ian Begley

It is unknown, however, if this sentiment was the ultimate reason for moving him in Towns’ deal, but it’s fair to assume it contributed or at the very least made things easier for the Knicks brass to pull the trigger in a package including DiVo.

For what’s worth, it’s been reported that the Wolves only entertained serious trade talks once the Knicks gave up and made DiVincenzo available. Minny considered DiVo a fundamental piece of the trade and they wouldn’t have moved Towns in any other scenario/package.

The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski reported on Saturday that the Wolves have been interested in adding DiVincenzo since he entered free agency and decided to sign with New York. He added that the former Knicks microwave shooter “had to be part of the package” in any Towns trade.

“The Wolves made a hard run at DiVincenzo in free agency last season, believing his combination of shooting and wing defense would be a perfect fit on their roster.

“If they were going to relent to New York’s wishes by finally giving them Towns, DiVincenzo had to be part of the package, team sources said. They see him fitting in right alongside Edwards in the backcourt.” — Jon Krawczynski

The Knicks, who have seriously explored trading for Towns over the past year, were finally able to engage in more serious discussions after including DiVincenzo in the package.

After a career year in New York, where he set a franchise record for three-pointers (283) and averaged 15.5 points per game, DiVincenzo appeared poised for an even larger role. However, with Mikal Bridges joining the lineup and the “Nova-Knicks” dream team of Villanova alumni taking shape, DiVincenzo found himself facing the possibility of getting a diminished role, as Begley reported.

It’s worth noting, however, that the supposed lesser role was exactly the one DiVo got when he first arrived in Manhattan. For sure, DiVincenzo ended last season thriving as a starter, if only because of injuries, but there was no way he was going to retain a place in the starting five after the Knicks landed Bridges and with a healthy OG Anunoby also available to start the season.

Last year we saw DiVincenzo hit threes at a ridiculous 40.1% clip. We saw him start 63 regular-season games and then all 13 postseason contests. We saw him go from averaging 20 MPG in the first 20 games of the season to 32 MPG in the final 62 missing one and starting all other 61.

“I’ve talked about this before,” DiVincenzo said after the Knics fell to the Pacers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semis. “I’ve been on different [teams], and there’s different roles that you play, but I think this is the first time in my career where it’s been a funky year.

“You come in, you have a whole different team than what you do midway through the year and then guys go down. Your role expands.

“Now you get to show what you were behind closed doors for every single day in the offseason.”

DiVo came, saw, and conquered New York. Time for him to perform an encore in Minneapolis.