Former Knicks Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo still adjusting to their roles on Timberwolves
Former Knicks players Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo are still finding their footing with the Timberwolves. Credit: David Berding/Getty Images; AP Photo/Abbie Parr
MINNEAPOLIS — Julius Randle really didn’t want to talk about the Knicks, about facing them for the first time or about his new team in Minnesota. The only thing he conceded to say was this.
“It’s cold,” Randle said after Wednesday morning's Timberwolves practice session. Reminded that it’s cold in New York, too, he deadpanned, “It’s minus-four.”
The area also is predicted to have about five to seven inches of snow before the Knicks and Timberwolves take the court Thursday night. It is the first chance to see face-to-face just what the massive trade has brought to each franchise.
Just as Karl-Anthony Towns has shown nothing but joy at being back near his home with the Knicks, both Randle and Donte DiVincenzo professed their happiness in Minnesota. But it was the Knicks reunion that was really the subject. Neither the Knicks nor the Timberwolves have quite lived up to the expectations held for their teams after this trade.
Towns has excelled offensively, pairing with Jalen Brunson to form a potent pick-and-roll combination and he’s leading the NBA in rebounding in his return to center. Randle’s numbers have dipped slightly as he fits in alongside Anthony Edwards. He is averaging 20.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists so far while the Timberwolves have struggled to a 14-11 start, in seventh place in the Western Conference.
DiVincenzo, who became a starter and a star last season in New York after beginning the season as a sixth man, is averaging just 8.3 points and shooting 31.3% from three in a bench role.
“It’s an adjustment,” DiVincenzo said. “KAT was here for, what was it, nine years? The guy was here for nine years. Same thing. When he leaves here there’s a hole, there’s a void of what he brought. In the same way, even though I was there for a year, even though Julius missed half the year he was there for five years. There’s something when a guy spends that much time in an organization, they’re around people, you just get accustomed to what you’re going to get every single day.
“So coming here, just try to be yourself. We let you guys decide on what I bring to the team. But I know internally what I bring and what type of person I’m being every single day and what type of teammate. And that’s my focus.
"Basketball, the adjustment, that will take care of itself. You get in your comfort zone and you get in a rhythm, that just takes off. But what you can control is your attitude every single day and your professionalism and how you approach every single day. I think that’s what Julius and I are going to do.”
Randle wasn’t so effusive about the challenge, smiling at every question but offering just simple answers to every one of them.
How do you treat tomorrow like any other game?
“I will.”
How?
“Play basketball."
It’s got to mean something you were the face of the franchise?
“Another game.”
When you played the Lakers, it was more than another game. What’s the difference here?
“I’m 30 years old. “
If Randle wasn’t going to play along with the hype for this game, it was understandable. Both teams are still finding their way and so are the players, adjusting to new roles and learning new systems.
DiVincenzo is used to this, having found himself on a new team for four straight seasons. And even if New York felt like home, he was confident that given time, he will find his way.
“You look at the start of last year — I wasn’t playing much. I hadn’t earned Thibs’ trust at that point. I wasn’t playing in rhythm yet. I was just in a different system that was really fast-paced and I went there and it was a little bit slower. Then you start to feel comfortable, you get traded and you’re just doing it over again.
“It’s part of the business. And there’s an understanding of what you bring to the team. What I can control is how I approach every day. Don’t go into a hole just because things aren’t working well and people have expectations of how the season ended last year individually. It doesn’t just necessarily pick up like that. Everybody wants that. I want it. But you’re playing with a whole new team, a whole new fan base, a whole new organization, so just staying with it, trusting in my work, knowing that I’m putting the work in every single day and it’ll turn.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
