Prior to his comeback to MSG, Donte DiVincenzo refuted the “completely false” rumors that he was displeased the Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges as a result of it will relegate him to the bench.
“Obviously everyone desires to begin coming off the season I had last year, but I also comprehend that there’s different lineups and different combinations that teams want to reach – I understand that. It was never a thing of, ‘Oh, we got Mikal, I’m annoyed.’ I was extremely thrilled,” DiVincenzo communicated to The Post. “Take the Villanova s–t out of it, I was very thrilled because we have a very good player coming back to the team. And you get OG [Anunoby] back, now you’re looking at, ‘Wow we’re going to be really good.’ There was never a conversation of my role was going to be diminished. There was never a conversation that my minutes would be diminished. It was the outside assumption and ran with it and it was untrue.”
DiVincenzo, now part of the Timberwolves after final month’s blockbuster alternate, was propelled into the Knicks’ beginning lineup final season due to accidents and excelled nicely past expectations.
He established the franchise file for 3-pointers, led the Eastern Conference in treys after December and became New York’s second-leading scorer in the playoffs after Jalen Brunson.
About a month after their postseason run ended, the Knicks utilized 5 first-round picks to get hold of Bridges from Brooklyn.
It not solely strengthened the Villanova reference to 4 school teammates on the Knicks, but in addition produced a logjam on the wings with three former Wildcats – Bridges, DiVincenzo and Josh Hart – all ready to begin.
Logic prompt Bridges would substitute DiVincenzo in the lineup however that was by no means deliberated with the 27-year-old.
“There was no discussions with [coach Tom Thibodeau.] There was no discussions with [team president] Leon [Rose],” DiVincenzo remarked. “There was no discussions where it’s like, ‘Hey, we got Mikal, this is what you’re role is going to be.’ Because you don’t know until the season starts. So my mind wasn’t on that.”
DiVincenzo was exchanged in late September with Julius Randle for Karl-Anthony Towns, a transfer that was succeeded by a report the guard was “truly unhappy” about not beginning with the Knicks and wasn’t a fan of the Villanova reunion storyline.
“I don’t know how that kind of picked up speed but it’s completely false. You can look at the team I’m on right now – there’s going to be some games I start, and there’s going to be a lot of games I come off the bench,” remarked DiVincenzo, who's foreseen to come off the Minnesota bench behind a guard/wing trio of Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels.
Sporting a full crimson beard, DiVincenzo was again at MSG on Sunday and warming up on the identical hoop he nailed that Game 2 winner in opposition to the Sixers – maybe the largest Knicks shot of the final 20-plus years.
He was anticipated to take part in Sunday’s preseason competitors, going through off in opposition to Bridges, Brunson, Hart and the remainder of the Knicks.
Earlier in the week, GQ Magazine revealed a narrative and video shoot of the ‘Nova foursome however the theme had to be reworked as a result of the interviews had been carried out earlier than the commerce.
“It’s not weird. We’re friends outside of basketball,” DiVincenzo expressed. “It’s not like we just became friends in basketball and that’s the only thing we have friendship-wise. Those are my brothers. We could do the shoot, whether all of us play for four different teams or the same team. I think the timing of it was kind of funny. But that doesn’t change anything about the relationship or anything. We don’t feel weird like saying, ‘I’m not in it, so why would you post it?’”
With the shift so abrupt and occurring simply earlier than coaching camp, DiVincenzo talked about he nonetheless owns a home in New York and it was unusual to sleep in his common mattress earlier than a street recreation.
The commerce, in any case, was a stunner. But it wasn’t about DiVincenzo being displeased over his position.
“I was at home when I heard about the trade. And when it went down, I kind of heard rumors of what was going on. The only thing that made sense for me was (going to) Minnesota,” DiVincenzo expressed. “Initially, you never want to get traded. So I was kind of upset, I was kind of hurt. …And my mind went right to (the Timberwolves). ….It was an easy transition. There were no angry feelings, no mad feelings, nothing like that. It was an initial, ‘Damn I got traded.’ And you move on to the next thing. It was all love.”
