NBA Rumors: Donte DiVincenzo didn’t like Knicks role before cities acted | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Although the New York Knicks had no plans to move on from Donte DiVincenzo this season, they decided to include him as part of the package to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns.

According to SNY’s Ian Begley, DiVincenzo “didn’t particularly like the idea” of potentially playing a smaller role for the Knicks, as Mikal Bridges likely would have taken his spot in the starting lineup had he stayed with the club.

Begley did note that any unhappiness for DiVincenzo likely didn’t factor into New York’s decision to include him in the trade for Towns.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski reported Friday that the Knicks sent DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round draft pick to the Timberolves for Towns via the Detroit Pistons.

New York was looking for another center, with Mitchell Robinson likely out until at least December while recovering from offseason ankle surgery. Towns is a big change for an organization that is now all-in after previously adding Bridges to a core that includes Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby.

After coming off the bench last season, DiVincenzo played his way into the starting five for head coach Tom Thibodeau. The 27-year-old ultimately started 63 games, marking only the second time in his career that he started at least 40 games (66 in 2020/21).

DiVincenzo posted career highs in minutes per game (29.1), scoring average (15.5 points per game) and three-point percentage (40.1) in 2023-2024. His 283 made threes ranked third in the NBA, behind Stephen Curry (357) and Luka Dončić (284).

The Timberwolves don’t have a starting job available for DiVincenzo with Anthony Edwards and Mike Conley Jr. in their backcourt, but his three-point shooting ability will almost certainly make him a big part of head coach Chris Finch’s closing lineup.