The Knicks may have traded Donte DiVincenzo for this reason

The New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to a blockbuster trade Friday night, with the Wolves sending Karl-Anthony Towns to New York and the Knicks sending Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota.

DiVincenzo, along with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, who the Knicks traded for in July, were ready to be known as the Nova Knicks. With DiVincenzo gone, the Nova Knicks are gone, having not played a single game together.

According to SNY’s Ian Begley, DiVincenzo was reportedly unhappy with how his role would look this season, a potential reason why the Knicks included him instead.

“But with the moves made this offseason, DiVincenzo was probably going to come off the bench this season,” Begley said. “Bridges likely would have taken his spot in the starting lineup. I can confidently say that DiVincenzo did not like the idea of ​​playing less minutes/a reduced role this season.”

“He was coming off a career year and helped the team win a lot of games when he was shorthanded,” Begley added. “I don’t think any competitor would be happy with the idea of ​​taking on a reduced role in this situation.”

DiVincenzo averaged a career-best 15.5 points per game along with 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last season. Despite playing just one year with the Knicks, he will be fondly remembered in New York for his game-winning shot against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 of the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Minnesota was interested in DiVincenzo last season when he was a free agent. With the loss of Towns’ three-point shooting, DiVincenzo’s shooting ability is a great replacement for one of the best shooters in the league. DiVincenzo made 3.5 three-pointers per game in 2024.

DiVincenzo’s role with the Timberwolves will likely be the same as with the Knicks; the team’s sixth man.