Donte DiVincenzo has finally reunited with former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. But what else does he bring to the Knicks?
The worst-kept secret has been revealed. The destined stars have finally aligned in the Nova. Villanova, that is.
Thanks to Josh Hart’s player option compliance and Obi Toppin’s dismissal, the Knicks had enough money in their MLE to sign DiVincenzo without hitting the luxury tax line. Of course, all of it starts with Jalen Brunson being on a descending steal-of-a-deal contract. It was as if the Nova boys dreamed of it all from the start, and they may not be done reuniting, either.
If you don’t know by now, Brunson, Hart, and DiVincenzo won the 2016 March Madness title together at Villanova, and then Brunson and DiVincenzo followed up with another just two years later. I was a Brunson fan at 17 years old, but it was DiVincenzo who stuck out to me most in the 2018 title game when he made big play after big play on both ends en route to destroying Mo Wagner’s Michigan Wolverines.
A championship pedigree followed Donte into the league. He started every game he played for the Milwaukee Bucks in their 2021 title run, although he was injured for most of the postseason with a torn ligament in his ankle. After a down year in Sacramento, DiVincenzo again proved his value as a role player as a reliable off-guard shooter and defender for Golden State. Last season, he averaged 9.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting .435/.397/.817 in 26.3 minutes per game.
When you think about the Knicks’ strengths and what they need, DiVincenzo fits in well. He’s a versatile three-point shooter who can mesh with starters, guide a second unit, make good passes, play tough defense on ball-handlers, intercept passes, and snag second and third-chance rebounds “that break teams” (as if the Knicks needed another one of those guys). From time to time, he can attack the rim with some force, and at 6’4, the Warriors even trusted him to switch onto taller players in their defense pretty often.
Here are some key stats from the 2022-23 season via BBall Index:
Off the court, DiVincenzo will become an immediate fan favorite, joining the likes of Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe as New York’s Italian sports stars. He also seems to be a likable guy based on his appearance on Point Forward.
Like most of the Warriors’ rotation, DiVincenzo was not great in last year’s playoffs. He shot .375 from the floor and .341 from three in the postseason, though he took only 4.9 shots per game. My favorite moment from his 2022-23 season was when he chose to switch onto Damian Lillard late in one fourth quarter and close the game out himself:
Does he fulfill what the Knicks needed this offseason? That’s questionable. He is not an off-the-dribble isolation scorer nor a big wing defender, two prototypes the Knicks missed in the semifinals against Miami. 70 percent of his shots last season were threes, after all.
DiVincenzo is also not a floor general, or at least we haven’t seen that yet. So in that sense, he’s not the best insurance in case of a future Immanuel Quickley deal. In Golden State, he mainly played with primary ball handlers like Steph Curry and Jordan Poole. He’ll likely do the same with Brunson and IQ.
The rotations, then, are another mystery. With no Obi Toppin, the non-Julius Randle minutes are wide open (and lord forbid he rolls his ankle again and misses games). DiVincenzo probably doesn’t fill Toppin’s role, but he does allow Tom Thibodeau to run a smaller, spaced-out, switchable second unit with Hart or RJ Barrett at power forward.
But even still, with Brunson, IQ, and Quentin Grimes all deserving of minutes, playing time will be tight, and the crunch time five-man unit will have some tough cuts.
Somewhere on this iceberg of narratives, deep under the water, is the fact that Deuce McBride won’t see playing time with the roster’s current construction. I’m pretty high on McBride and his game-changing defense, and I wonder where he is in the decision-makers’ plans (if he is at all).
Regardless, DiVincenzo is a smart, talented winner, and you can never have too many of those, especially if a bigger depth-cutting move is on the horizon.
Welcome to the Knicks, Donte DiVincenzo!
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the NBA season. And in case you missed it, check out this clip of ESPN’s Mark Jones talking about the Knicks and his illustrious career.
