The Minnesota Timberwolves are heading toward a busy summer, but Donte DiVincenzo’s torn Achilles may have altered their plans.
While it feels like the Wolves will have to plan on life without DiVincenzo, it may not be as bad as they think, as The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski revealed that some in the organization believe he could return at some point next year.
“It is far too early in the recovery process to predict when DiVincenzo will return to action. Tearing an Achilles tendon is among the most serious injuries in the game, often keeping players out for a year or more,” Krawczynski wrote. “Boston’s Jayson Tatum returned in less than 10 months, but that is considered an outlier. Still, DiVincenzo is trying to follow Tatum’s lead. He flew to New York for surgery less than 24 hours after suffering the injury, following a similar timeline that Tatum went through. DiVincenzo has spoken to Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard, all of whom have recently suffered the same injury about their recoveries. …Several within the Timberwolves organization believe DiVincenzo could return at some point next season. The question his how much he can be expected to give?”
Donte DiVincenzo’s recovery becoming a major storyline for Timberwolves’ offseason
Having DiVincenzo back in any capacity would be a huge boost for the Timberwolves. DiVincenzo played well in his first season in the starting lineup, playing in all 82 regular season games and averaging 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest. While his 40.6 percent shooting rate and 37.9 percent 3-point rate were his lowest since the 2021-22 season, he shot 50 percent from the floor and 47.8 percent on 3-pointers in the playoff series against Denver before he got hurt.
But as Krawczynski mentioned, the only question is if DiVincenzo comes back, how much will he be able to play?
Tatum was injured during last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals, but returned to play 16 games during the regular season. While he averaged 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game, his minutes were down from 36.4 per game during the 2024-25 season to 32.6 minutes during the 2025-26 season.
The Boston Celtics star continued to play well through the playoffs with 23.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals over the first six games of their series against the Philadelphia 76ers. But Tatum sat out Game 7 after experiencing lingering knee soreness and the Celtics were eliminated without their star in the lineup.
Tatum’s story shows that a return can be possible. While that would be the ideal scenario, Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers both missed the past season while recovering from torn Achilles tendons suffered in last year’s playoffs and it could lead to a similar situation if DiVincenzo experiences a setback in his return to the court.
But with no guarantee a star like Kyrie Irving is coming to fill the point guard role, DiVincenzo will be an important storyline to monitor this season. With Ayo Dosunmu entering free agency and Mike Conley aging either into an end-of-bench role, getting DiVincenzo back would be a big development and could help the Wolves remain competitive heading into next season.
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