What Rick Brunson actually said to Donte DiVincenzo is revealed

Last weekend, the Minnesota Timberwolves were making big headlines after what happened during their preseason contest against the New York Knicks. Traveling to Manhattan for the first time since the blockbuster Karl-Anthony Towns trade was completed, there were some obvious storylines around the players involved in the deal playing against their former teams for the first time.

Naturally, there was likely to be drama. And it came to fruition in the form of Donte DiVincenzo shouting to the Knicks bench during a free throw attempt. Playfully taunting his former head coach Tom Thibodeau, Donte called out what must have been one of Thibs' prior criticisms of his game.

"Can't finish, right Thibs?" he yelled at the bench. Now, this was originally misheard as DiVincenzo saying "thanks for the trade," but that rumor has since been squashed. So initially, it seemed that this interaction was as far as the trash talk would go, with it all seeming relatively harmless.

But then after the game, the plot thickened as Knicks assistant coach and father of Jalen Brunson, Rick Brunson, approached DiVincenzo. According to the New York Post, Brunson had some harsh words for the Timberwolves guard. "Sucka s---, man," Rick said to Donte. "That was some sucka s---. I'ma let you live, brother."

DiVincenzo's words were directed at Rick Brunson

We had previously seen this interaction from a distance, but nothing was known of what was said between the two until now. However, we knew the conflict here had to be of a more serious nature, given that the two had to be separated. "You talked to me. I was talking to Thibs,” DiVincenzo said. “You want to bring it out here for the camera."

This all begins to make sense when we recall Donte's free throw attempt from earlier. It was reported that he had shouted "that's what happens when they let you run the show. Let daddy be in charge," to New York's bench after his comments to Thibodeau, which likely means that Rick Brunson had something to say in that moment as well, naturally prompting DiVincenzo's response.

Rumors have circulated that Brunson may have had some say in orchestrating the trade that ultimately sent DiVincenzo to Minnesota. This would seem to be the most logical explanation for this course of events, which have obviously turned relatively ugly fast. Donte voiced that he wanted to work out the rest of this conflict behind closed doors, which would probably be best for everyone involved.

Now knowing the weight of the comments between these two, it is much more understandable why things did not stay respectful in the heat of the moment. This will certainly remain an interesting storyline to follow for Wolves fans to follow in the two regular season contests against New York this season.