Earlier this month, Kris Pursiainen of ClutchPoints reported that the New York Knicks had registered interest in reuniting with Donte DiVincenzo. However, on Wednesday, Ian Begley of SNY silenced the noise about this being a realistic possibility despite acknowledging the Knicks have interest in the Minnesota Timberwolves guard.
"I’m sure the Knicks would love to have Donte DiVincenzo on the team," Begley wrote. "They hated losing him in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, and he was part of the fabric of the 2023-24 team. With regards to any movement, I’ve checked around on this for the past few days and haven’t heard about any significant movement. People on all sides of a potential trade see it as highly unlikely... The Knicks would have to trade either Josh Hart or Mitchell Robinson to make a deal work. They aren’t trading Hart. I don’t see how they can trade Robinson; if they did trade him, it wouldn’t make sense to get a non-big in return."
DiVincenzo is a better fit with the Wolves than Hart
As both teams are in the first tax apron, that would make a deal challenging. Either Hart or Robinson would have to be a part of the deal to make the money work. With Hart, a trade would be especially tricky since he makes $7.5 million more than DiVincenzo. Meaning the Wolves would have to part ways with more talent in addition to DiVincenzo.
Begley notes that the Knicks don't want to trade Hart. I get that, his all-around impact is immense. At the same time, I don't see there being much incentive to do such a deal from Minnesota's perspective either. Sure, Hart might be a better player than DiVincenzo in a vacuum, but the Wolves need Donte's skill set more than Hart's.
DiVincenzo's 3-point shooting, connective playmaking, and secondary creation have made him a crucial part of the Wolves' success. Notably, he is averaging 13.9 points while shooting 38.5 percent from beyond the arc this season. Hart is a fantastic rebounder, defender, and connective playmaker. However, as mentioned earlier, DiVincenzo's shooting and creation make him a better fit with the Wolves.
Frankly, there's a reason why the Wolves coveted DiVincenzo so much in the Karl-Anthony Towns-Julius Randle trade last year.
A deal around Robinson is easier but still highly unlikely
A trade centered around Robinson is easier financially since he makes just $1 million more than DiVincenzo. Even still, I think there would be holdups for both teams. As Begley mentioned, the Knicks would likely need a center in return for Robinson, given their limited big man depth.
While the Wolves could use another center as they have struggled defensively in the non-Rudy Gobert minutes, that shouldn't come at the expense of their biggest need of guard depth. If the Wolves trade DiVincenzo, they'll likely need a true lead guard in return.
Could the Knicks trade Miles McBride or Tyler Kolek, and the Wolves move off one of their young player? Hypothetically, sure, but I don't think the Knicks would be thrilled to trade one of these players or about landing one of Minnesota's unproven young players, even if it's rookie center Joan Beringer.
Truthfully, the only way I see a deal getting done would be a three-team deal where the Wolves net a point guard. However, with the new CBA, such deals are extremely challenging, and what lead guard the Wolves could get who would be an upgrade over DiVincenzo is unclear.
In all likelihood, DiVincenzo will stay in Minnesota, and Wolves fans should be delighted by this outcome.