Earlier than dealing with his former group in New York on Sunday, Donte DiVincenzo dismissed the notion that he was disgruntled by the potential of a job discount with the Knicks following their acquisition of Mikal Bridges.
A number of studies within the wake of the commerce sending DiVincenzo from the Knicks to the Timberwolves steered he wasn’t thrilled about doubtlessly transferring to the bench after a profession yr, with one claiming he was “actually sad” in regards to the thought. DiVincenzo known as that “utterly unfaithful,” as Stefan Bondy of The New York Submit relays.
“Clearly everybody desires to start out coming off the season I had final yr, however I additionally perceive that there’s completely different lineups and completely different mixtures that groups wish to get to – I perceive that. It was by no means a factor of, ‘Oh, we acquired Mikal, I’m pissed off.’ I used to be tremendous excited,” DiVincenzo informed Bondy. “Take the Villanova s–t out of it, I used to be tremendous excited as a result of we have now an excellent participant coming again to the group. And also you get OG (Anunoby) again, now you’re , ‘Wow we’re going to be actually good.’
“There was by no means a dialog of my position was going to be diminished. There was by no means a dialog that my minutes could be diminished. It was the skin assumption and ran with it and it was unfaithful.”
Whereas DiVincenzo admitted that he was caught off guard when he first heard about his transfer to Minnesota, he mentioned he acquired on board with the deal rapidly and that he’s not holding any form of grudge towards the Knicks for buying and selling him away after a yr through which he set the franchise’s single-season document for three-pointers.
“Initially, you by no means wish to get traded. So I used to be type of upset, I used to be type of harm,” DiVincenzo mentioned. “… And my thoughts went proper to (the Timberwolves). …. It was a straightforward transition. There have been no indignant emotions, no mad emotions, nothing like that. It was an preliminary, ‘Rattling, I acquired traded.’ And you progress on to the following factor. It was all love.”
Right here’s extra on the Knicks:
- Having expressed enthusiasm about how his personal roster takes care of the Karl-Anthony Cities commerce, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch additionally heaped reward on the Knicks for the work they’ve carried out to improve their squad since final season ended, per Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. “I imply, how will you not like this group?” Finch requested rhetorically. “They acquired two-way gamers in every single place. That’s what you gotta you’ve got within the recreation to win right now at a excessive degree. … They’ve nice versatility, they’re gonna unfold you out, they acquired toughness, they’re tremendous well-coached. I feel (Bridges and Cities) naturally match into Tom (Thibodeau)‘s character and system.”
- After taking part in alongside a four-time Defensive Participant of the 12 months middle (Rudy Gobert) for the final two seasons, Cities should alter to taking part in the 5 in New York and tackle the defensive duties that come alongside together with his new position. As Peter Botte of The New York Submit particulars, Cities is embracing that problem. “It’s simply accepting the accountability of being the one that’s quarterbacking and anchoring the protection,” Cities mentioned, including that wings like Bridges, Anunoby, and Josh Hart will assist make life simpler for him.
- The Knicks’ roster appears extra proficient than final season’s group, however will it be capable to match the toughness of the 2023/24 squad after dropping DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, and Isaiah Hartenstein? Steve Popper of Newsday considers that query.
