The Knicks are allegedly interested in bring Donte DiVincenzo back to New York.
According to a report from ClutchPoints, “Minnesota sent New York’s front office several trade proposals” that never came close to satisfying the Knicks. The report goes on to say that the Wolves “have some interest in the protected first-round pick the Knicks are owed by the Washington Wizards.”
The pick is top-eight protected in 2026, meaning the Wizards will keep the pick if they finish with one of the four worst records in the NBA.
Entering play Friday, they own the worst record in the league. That means it’s a good bet that the Wizards will instead be sending the Knicks two future second-round picks (2026 and 2027), while keeping their 2026 first-round selection.
It’s unclear what kind of deal Minnesota offered the Knicks, but one idea that might be interesting is DiVincenzo for Knicks backup center Mitchell Robinson. But as intriguing as that is on paper, it’s very difficult to make it work because the Knicks are a second apron team, meaning they can’t aggregate salaries and they can’t take back more money than they send out.
DiVincenzo is making $11.99 million this season compared to Robinson’s $12.95 million. It’s impossible straight up, and the Wolves don’t have a lower-salary player making the right amount to make a deal work. Basically, a third team would need to get involved to help make the money work in a DiVincenzo-Robinson trade.
The idea of losing DiVincenzo and his bargain salary ($12.5m) next season for Robinson, who is a free agent next summer, isn’t the most appealing deal in the world. Minnesota would lose a solid two-way guard with big-time 3-point shooting chops, but they would beef up the front-court depth with a guy who is averaging 16.9 rebounds per 36 minutes.
We’ll see what happens, but DiVincenzo can be had by other teams if Minnesota gets a player at a position of need (point guard or backup big).
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