A month after the Minnesota Timberwolves’ season ended in misery in the Western Conference Finals for a second consecutive year, the vibes around the team are nearly as high as they’ve ever been.
Anthony Edwards is the superstar we’ve all been waiting for since the Wolves traded Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics. Tim Connelly prioritized vibes and re-signed Naz Reid and Julius Randle to contracts that benefit both the players and the team. Glen Taylor can’t hurt us anymore. And the Wolves used the 17th pick in the draft to select a future Rudy Gobert replacement in French big man Joan Beringer.
The table is set for long-term prosperity, but with success comes sacrifice.
Re-signing Naz and Julius meant the Wolves likely couldn’t keep Nickeil Alexander-Walker in free agency. The Atlanta Hawks swooped in and signed NAW to a 4-year $62 million deal, a number the Wolves were never going to be able to match.
Alexander-Walker quickly endeared himself to Wolves fans when he arrived from Utah alongside Mike Conley. In his 2-plus years in Minnesota, NAW was the perfect seventh man and 3-and-D guard, averaging 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 187 games for the Wolves while shooting 38.4 percent from three. With NAW’s departure, Minnesota will need someone to fill the 6’5” Canadian-sized hole on the bench.
Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon Jr, and Jaylen Clark will all have increased roles next season. But Donte DiVincenzo is the man the Wolves need to step things up. DDV had a fine first season in Minnesota after arriving on the eve of training camp as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. DiVincenzo averaged 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 39.7 percent from three. He started slow and came on down the stretch after missing time with a big toe injury in January. He shot 44.7 percent from three after returning from injury, and the Wolves went 16-6 down the stretch to secure the 6th seed and avoid the play-in.
After leading the New York Knicks to an improbable run in the playoffs after several injuries last season, DiVincenzo had a disappointing showing in Minnesota’s run to the Western Conference Finals. The Big Ragu could never quite find his rhythm in his first playoff outing with the Wolves.
DiVincenzo shot 6-31 (19.4 percent) from three in five games against the Los Angeles Lakers in Round 1. His shooting improved against the Golden State Warriors, but he still only hit 32 percent of his threes and 37.8 percent from the field. And his bad habit of driving into the teeth of the defense, jumping, and having nowhere to pass the ball, which often resulted in a turnover, reared its ugly head against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With Alexander-Walker in Atlanta, the Wolves will need the best out of DiVincenzo on both sides of the ball if they are going to get past the conference finals.
Mike Conley is entering his age-38 season, and Rob Dillingham played sporadically during his rookie season. Therefore, Chris Finch will need to count on DiVincenzo as a secondary ballhandler and primary on-ball defender. Finch tried to use him more as a point guard when he got comfortable in Minnesota. Still, DiVincenzo never seemed to fully grasp the reins of the offense in his first year and needed Conley, NAW, and sometimes Ant and Randle to bring the ball up in his place.
At 6’4”, 203 lbs., DiVincenzo has the size and strength to hound opposing ballhandlers. He will have Edwards, Shannon, and Clark next to him in the backcourt to take some defensive pressure off, and McDaniels and Gobert roaming around ready to clean up any messes DiVincenzo’s aggressive, gambling mentality may cause. Rob Dillingham’s ascent to starting caliber point guard will also ease the pressure to run the offense through DiVincenzo.
The 8th overall pick in the 2024 draft showed promise in limited playing time last season. Dillingham averaged 4.5 points and two assists in 10.5 minutes per game in 49 games as a rookie. His breakout came during a two-game stretch in November when he scored 14 points in a two-point loss to the Boston Celtics and followed it up with 12 points, seven assists, and five rebounds against the Houston Rockets.
In his best moments, Dillingham played with the verve of a young Allen Iverson, crossing up defenders and hitting a pure stepback or blowing by bigger guards on the way to the rim. At his worst, he looked every bit the overwhelmed and undersized 20-year-old who didn’t even start in college. A summer with Anthony Edwards may prepare Dillingham to take over the point guard position in Year 2. Still, most likely, he’ll need another year or two of seasoning behind Conley and DiVincenzo.
Donte DiVincenzo had a fine first season in Minnesota. In 2025, he’ll need to tap into what made him so valuable to a hard-charging, never-say-die Knicks team to ease the pain of losing Nickeil Alexander-Walker.