The imaginative and prescient was clear in New York in the beginning of the 2024-25 NBA season: “Villanova Knicks.” After buying and selling quite a few draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Jalen Brunson’s former faculty teammates Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, it appeared just like the Infinity Stones have been all collectively.
The New York Knicks would deliver the group collectively to compete for a championship. This could be a workforce filled with chemistry because of the championship-winning workforce within the mid-2010s.
That’s, till it’s not the case. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Knicks traded DiVincenzo, together with All-Star ahead Julius Randle, to the Minnesota Timberwolves for heart Karl-Anthony Cities. He obtained combined critiques from Knicks followers coming into the common season, because it was troublesome to see a fan favourite in DiVincenzo go away.
Nonetheless, through the first third of the season, it’s clear that New York is profitable the market. Cities performs like an MVP candidatewith the Knicks holding the third seed within the Jap Convention, whereas Randle and DiVincenzo have struggled to search out scoring roles in Minnesota.
This season, DiVincenzo specifically is struggling off the bench. It was reported that the goalkeeper did not like the concept of coming off the bench.therefore his cope with the Timberwolves, as they wanted to make room for ahead OG Anunoby.
The 27-year-old has seen a noticeable drop in his manufacturing. Final season, DiVincenzo averaged 15.5 factors on 44.3% taking pictures from the sector and 40.1% from deep. This season, his scoring has dropped to eight.9 factors per sport on 36.8% taking pictures from the sector and 33.1% from deep.
Donte DiVincenzo final season:
15.5 PPG – 44% FG – 40% 3PTDonte DiVincenzo this season:
8.9 PPG – 37% FG – 33% 3PT(By way of @realapp_ ) pic.twitter.com/H1ragDwyRx
– NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 24, 2024
It is all the time troublesome to enter a brand new system, particularly proper earlier than the beginning of the common season. DiVincenzo was traded in early October, that means he solely had about three weeks to maneuver to Minnesota and prepare with a brand new workforce. As we strategy the midway level of the common season, issues have not gotten any higher.
The Timberwolves are barely clinging to a spot within the Play-In Event, lower than seven months after reaching the Western Convention Finals. This exhibits how a blockbuster commerce can negatively affect a workforce, whereas the Knicks benefited tremendously from it.
There’s hope that DiVincenzo can flip issues round and recapture that magic he as soon as had in New York. In 63 video games as a starter final seasonhe averaged 17.7 factors, 4.0 rebounds and three.0 assists, turning into among the finest three-point shooters within the league. Knicks followers will certainly assist him from afar.
