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Timberwolves’ Donte DiVincenzo finally embraces new home by letting go of New York

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Timberwolves’ Donte DiVincenzo finally embraces new home by letting go of New York

MINNEAPOLIS — The realization of what it was going to take to fully become a Minnesota Timberwolf came slowly for Donte DiVincenzo.

No matter how often he said that he was happy to be in Minnesota, no matter how welcoming his new teammates and coaches were to a player they so desperately needed, DiVincenzo could not help himself from holding on to what he left behind.

For an athlete, there is nothing more intoxicating than the roar of the crowd, and DiVincenzo’s last memories of his one season in the Big Apple were soaked in adoration from the New York Knicks’ faithful. Madison Square Garden erupted for him in the Knicks’ last game of the season, when he scored 39 points during a loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of their second-round series. And his ears were still ringing from the mayhem of Game 2 of the first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, against whom his 3-pointer capped a miraculous comeback win and left him almost speechless from the volume inside one of the league’s most storied arenas.

The “Big Ragu” was a smash hit on Broadway, averaging a career-high 15.5 points per game and hitting 40 percent of his 3s for an upstart team that fought to the death. When he was traded on the eve of training camp along with Julius Randle to Minnesota for Karl-Anthony Towns, DiVincenzo told himself that it was for the best. The Knicks had just spent a boatload of draft capital to acquire another wing in Mikal Bridges, meaning he likely was not going to be able to hold on to his starting spot, and he was coming to one of the rising teams in the Western Conference, one with a megawatt star in Anthony Edwards that was entering the season with championship aspirations.

The Timberwolves turned down several offers from the Knicks over the past year and only relented after they included DiVincenzo in the deal, so he knew he was wanted in his new home.

But that roar. It is straight dopamine into the veins. You don’t just leave that behind. You don’t just forget that when you step on the plane.

“From what I felt, I think he was still hanging on to some frustration from what happened,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said. “He’s human. But when you want to succeed, you’ve got to let that go.”

There was an anvil hanging around his neck. The past was preventing him from fully embracing the present. There was only one thing to do.

“Stop comparing what you did last year and just go out and hoop,” DiVincenzo said.

Unlike most offseason trades, DiVincenzo had no time to process this one. The Timberwolves and Knicks pulled off their blockbuster just two days before training camp opened. Like the rest of the principals involved in the deal, DiVincenzo was caught completely off guard.

“I was at home chilling,” he said. “Next thing I know, I’m on a flight going to Minnesota.”

It was nothing against Minnesota or the Timberwolves. DiVincenzo was genuinely excited to play with Edwards and come to a team that he knew valued his skill set. It was just jarring to have to relocate so close to the start of a season. As soon as the regular season began, DiVincenzo just could not find the same gear that had led to his career campaign with New York.

Through the first 18 games of the season, he averaged 8.9 points on 35 percent shooting, including 31.5 percent from 3-point range. This was not the fiery competitor, plug-and-play, 3-and-D wing the Wolves thought they were getting. This was an angsty, erratic player prone to turnovers on drives to the basket and scuds that clanked hard off the back iron when he pulled up from 3.

Everyone, from players to coaches to fans, wanted to see this new-look Timberwolves team just pick up where it left off last season. The reality of the situation was much more complex.

“It’s hard, because you know that going back to the trade, you lose a huge piece,” DiVincenzo said of Towns. “And you have two guys coming in that aren’t just throw-in guys. They’re key rotation guys that you have to figure it out. And when things aren’t going well, there’s a lot of stones thrown at you guys because of the success that the team had last year, but understanding stay together and figure it out.”

In the gossip-riddled NBA, speculation started to spread of DiVincenzo’s unhappiness with his role. He went from starting the last 74 games of last season and averaging 36 minutes per night in the playoffs for the Knicks to coming off of the bench for 24 minutes a game in Minnesota. Those Knicks were the toast of the town for their unexpected success in the Eastern Conference playoffs. These Timberwolves were booed at home earlier in the season because they were not meeting the expectations set by last season’s run to the West finals.

DiVincenzo’s body language did little to dissuade the rumor-mongers. Even when he was making shots, he reacted more with a sigh of relief than the bravado that is his calling card. His shoulders slumped with every turnover that came from trying to get Gobert the ball. His answers in interviews grew edgier as he was asked about the team’s struggles to find a rhythm.

“Everybody holds themselves to a high standard, so when it’s not going to that ability of what you know you’re capable of, it seems like the negative is worse than what it actually is,” DiVincenzo said. “For me, it’s just understanding that some games aren’t going to happen. You’re not going to have your night. But what can you hang your hat on? Making energy plays, doing the little things and giving yourself up to your teammates.”

Through all of the early-season struggles, the Wolves never wavered with DiVincenzo. They love his talent, love his contract and see him as a main part of their core going forward. Edwards went through a shooting session with him on Thanksgiving to try to boost his spirits. Chris Finch talked to him about where he feels comfortable getting his shots and how they can make things easier for him. Mike Conley and Naz Reid encouraged him to keep shooting no matter what.

But it was a chance conversation with veteran guard (and Wolves nemesis) Dennis Schröder that helped crystalize DiVincenzo’s outlook.

When Schröder was traded from Brooklyn to Golden State last week, he sought out DiVincenzo for notes on what it was like to play for the Warriors. DiVincenzo raved about his experience in Golden State and offered some thoughts on how Schröder could acclimate to his new surroundings. Schröder then turned the tables on him. He told DiVincenzo that it was time to stop fixating on his transition from New York to Minnesota and just get out there and play.

“He was just straightforward with his words,” DiVincenzo said. “He said that it’s hard. You just have to go out and do it. No matter where you’re at, just be you and just go do it. You look yourself in the mirror and be like, all right, the situation is the situation. Let last year go. This year is this year.”

Over the last six games, DiVincenzo is starting to look much more like the difference-maker he was in New York and the key role player who helped the Milwaukee Bucks win a championship. In that span, he is averaging 15.2 points on 50 percent shooting, including 49 percent from 3-point range. He scored a season-high 26 points on Sunday night and was a team-best plus-23 in a 112-110 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota’s third straight win.

DiVincenzo hit 5 of 10 3s and also had seven rebounds and four assists, one game after hitting six 3s and scoring 22 points in the Wolves’ come-from-behind win in Houston.

“He’s giving us everything,” Finch said. “He’s giving us everything we knew he was with the rebounding and the shotmaking and the smart play.”

The key for DiVincenzo lately is that he has been so much more than just a shooter. He is grabbing rebounds in traffic, helping the Wolves out-board 7-foot-3 Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs 56-41 on Sunday night. He is finding some chemistry with Gobert, hitting him on lobs and pick-and-roll actions for easy buckets.

And he may have had the play of the game when he raced back on defense to break up a pass from Chris Paul to Wembanyama that could have cut Minnesota’s lead to one point with 90 seconds to play.

“I think that’s what gets me going. It’s what gets everybody else going,” DiVincenzo said. “That’s who I am. It’s what my identity is. It’s also what our identity as a team is. … The good is contagious; so is the bad. So, those little plays of just trying to make a play then turns into other guys making plays.”

As he started to find his footing, the sauce is returning to Ragu’s game as well. Now, when he hits an open 3, he will do his trademark celebration and hold out his right arm with three fingers extended while pointing to the ice in his veins.

He unleashed a finger roll on a drive to the basket against San Antonio and also froze Keldon Johnson in transition with a slow spin move, a game drenched in confidence.

“Getting back to playing for the joy and love of the game versus comparing what I did and trying to build off of it,” DiVincenzo said. “Just being out there. You can’t take it for granted. You’re playing in the NBA, and you’re playing for one of the best teams in the league, and you’re playing with one of the best young superstars in the league. That dude has fun. Go have fun with him.”

The Wolves are all having fun right now. After a three-game losing streak dropped them to a disappointing .500, they went on the road to beat Dallas on Christmas Day and came back from 16 down with five minutes to play in Houston to stun the Rockets. They were down eight points early in the fourth quarter against San Antonio, but DiVincenzo played the last 17 minutes of the second half to help rally the Wolves (17-14), who are 9-4 in their last 13. Every one of those wins has come against a team with a record over .500 at the time.

Rudy Gobert had 17 points, 15 rebounds and a block against the Spurs. Randle added 16 points and four assists and gave it his all on defense against the towering Wembanyama, who had 34 points on 13-of-30 shooting.

After the Timberwolves got a final defensive stop to preserve their win, DiVincenzo was interviewed in the arena as the player of the game. The sellout crowd hollered “Donte! Donte! Donte!” as he answered questions, a warm and well-earned embrace from a fan base that has been waiting to see this version of him.

“It was super cool,” DiVincenzo said with a wide smile.

And he left it at that. No need to compare it to what he heard in New York. That is in the past. There are new memories to make.

“Just let go. Just go play. This is home. I want to be here,” DiVincenzo said. “There’s nothing else outside of that. It’s not (speculation) that I don’t want to be here. It’s not (people saying) that I’m p—-ed off. No. I’m happy as hell.

“My family’s here. I’m raising my family here. It’s a beautiful city. I want to be here. Now, just go play.”

(Top photo: David Berding / Getty Images )

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