As soon as a Knick is, at all times a trinket. Simply ask Donte Divincenzo.
Throughout a latest look on The Ringer Nba Present With Wosny Lambre, Fred Katz of athletics shared a narrative on Divincenzo persevering with to indicate his loyalty to New York Knicks lengthy after being exchanged on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Extra particularly, he clearly indicated that he would run without end with the previous head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Beneath, the anecdote that Katz dropped, which began round 10:30 am:
“Every year, athletics is a survey of nameless gamers,” one of many questions is at all times “for which coach would you prefer to play?” This 12 months, we now have actually modified the query for “Who do you suppose you’re the worst coach?” However when it was “for which coach would you prefer to play the least”, “Thibs would win this survey.
“So, apparently, this 12 months, when Minnesota gamers had been questioned when Donte was already on Minnesota, Donte adopted the journalists who took the solutions. When he got here to the query of the coach, Donte can be:” You Motherf * Cker, you’d be higher not saying Tom Thibodeau. It’s the F * Cing Greatest. “”
No matter you are feeling Thibs, this story is objectively unbelievable. That is proof of the proximity of this crew – and the rationale why Divincenzo stays a favourite of Knicks followers even by carrying Timberwolves threads.
Donte Divincenzo simply reminded us of a lot
Nostalgia Pangs typically doesn’t kick in lower than two years faraway from a given state of affairs. The Knicks 2023-24 are the mom of all exceptions.
This crew was shut. It was grainy. With Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, Julius Randle, Deucce McBride and even the acquisition of mid-season Og Anunoby, Divincenzo embodied the character of the oppressed in blue and love collar. After all, the group might generally be troublesome to take a look at. However he had a decent and US id Final 12 months’s crew was lacking For a lot of, if not all, of the season.
It is usually reminder that, though Thibs just isn’t for everybody, he resonates with sure individuals. We all know that Brunson Observe him to the seventh circle hell and again. Divincenzo is clearly one in all these individuals as nicely.
Instances change, nevertheless. Specifically, the checklist of knicks has modified after they acquired Mikal Bridges, then Karl-Anthony Cities. In doing so, they left the glad part behind their aggressive window. The expectations soar final season. With this comes an elevated strain. They are going to do it go much more Subsequent 12 months.
The change of workers and the circumstances ended up being the lack of Thibs. He has turn into painfully apparent that it was not The nice coach for guys like Bridges and Og Anunoby. It additionally appears fairly apparent that he was not the fitting coach to optimize the offensive technique of the Knicks. That is why they landed on Mike Brown. It’s thought-about far more an offensive tacticianand somebody who can unlock extra chemistry between Brunson and cities.
Whatever the finish of the Thibs period, followers will at all times have a particular place for him, for Donte, and for this 2023-24 crew usually. And for Divincenzo, the sensation is clearly mutual.
