Donte DiVincenzo returned to the Garden for preseason, and appeared to argue with Jalen Brunson’s dad
DiVincenzo and Knicks assistant Rick Brunson had to be separated on the court by security. Said DiVincenzo: “I think we’ll both be men and talk about it privately.”
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/BUGLUZ2J6JCW7J2J2HLU5CFICQ.jpg)
The full ‘Nova Knicks never materialized. In the offseason, the Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges, reuniting Bridges with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo, his former teammates at Villanova in 2016 and 2017.
But before the four could even play another game together, DiVincenzo was traded to Minnesota as part of the deal that landed Karl-Anthony Towns on the Knicks.
On its face, the move wasn’t an indictment of the ‘Nova Knicks idea. The Knicks needed a center badly, with Isaiah Hartenstein leaving for Oklahoma City and Mitchell Robinson out until 2025, and Towns was one of the best available. Rumors started to surface that DiVincenzo was not as into the ‘Nova Knicks idea as it appeared, and wasn’t interested in coming off the bench, which DiVincenzo later denied. But it did seem as if there were some hard feelings when DiVincenzo returned to Madison Square Garden for the Timberwolves’ preseason game on Sunday.
During the game, DiVincenzo jawed at the Knicks’ bench, notably saying, “That’s what happens when they let you run the show” before hitting a free throw in the first quarter.
Postgame, DiVincenzo appeared to be arguing with Jalen Brunson’s father, Knicks assistant Rick Brunson, and the two needed to be separated on the court by security. DiVincenzo declined to comment on the situation after the game.
“Some words. I don’t know fully well what was said,” DiVincenzo said after facing the Knicks for the first time since he was traded on Oct. 2. “A lot of people there. But I really have no comment on the situation. I think we’ll both be men and talk about it privately.”
Jalen Brunson and Bridges were on the floor near the interaction and declined to comment on what was said after the game. But DiVincenzo said he still had love for the Knicks fans and for his former teammates, despite the trade and the interaction.
“My relationship with Jalen — that’s my brother, my best friend,” DiVincenzo said. “That’s a separate relationship. I said I’ll talk about that privately and figure that out.”