Donte DiVincenzo gets strong endorsement from Steph Curry
Golden State guards Donte DiVincenzo, left, and Stephen Curry enjoy a moment in the second half of an NBA game in Sacramento, Calif., on April 7. Credit: AP
When the Knicks finalized the signing of Donte DiVincenzo, there was no news conference and no impromptu introduction in Las Vegas. But there have been folks willing to talk about the addition to the Knicks' roster.
The Knicks did include a statement from team president Leon Rose in their news release.
“We are excited to add Donte to the Knicks family and view him as a perfect fit to the culture we continue to establish,” Rose said in the statement. “Winning is in his DNA, and he will provide us with versatility, three-point shooting and tenacity.”
Speaking on a conference call from the American Century Championship, where he’s competing in golf rather than basketball, Steph Curry spoke glowingly about his former teammate. DiVincenzo spent this past season with Golden State, proving himself after surgery on his left ankle limited him in a season split between Milwaukee and Sacramento.
“We had a good conversation last offseason when he was trying to figure out what he was going to do,” Curry said. “I know he was coming off of an injury and trying to find a situation that could help him establish who he is as an NBA player and how much value he brings to winning teams. And he proved that above and beyond with us all year.
“He knows how to play the game. You can tell he won at the highest level in college. The Knicks got a good one and I’m happy that he got his fair share of that CBA, too. So it was good.”
What Curry mostly talked about was that DiVincenzo is the sort of player who fits with what the Knicks have been trying to build — or as Rose said in the statement,”a perfect fit.”
“He’s all about basketball, he’s all about winning. He brings great energy to the locker room. I used to call him the vet even though he’s still on the younger side [26 years old] just because he has that spirit about him,” Curry said. “And he plays way beyond his years. He’s good on both sides of the ball. He can playmake better than most people probably realize. So he fills a lot of holes on teams. And he’s not selfish in the respect of — I know he wants to start and be that guy, but he also understands where the value can be created on a team no matter what role you’re asked to do. And he bought in right away. And he got rewarded for it.”
Next?
The question remains whether the acquisition of DiVincenzo in free agency — he signed a four-year deal worth $47 million — is the last move for the Knicks' front office. The trade of Obi Toppin leaves a hole in the second unit, but the Knicks can get through it with a combination of Josh Hart and RJ Barrett when they play small or Jericho Sims if they need to play big. But the reality is that with Julius Randle starting at power forward, unless something goes drastically wrong, there is very little opportunity for a backup power forward.
With all of their executives gathered at the Las Vegas Summer League, the Knicks remain in listening mode on potential star upgrades, but nothing appears imminent right now. One matter the team would like to take care of now that Toppin has been cleared off the roster is to move Evan Fournier and his expiring $18.9 million contract. The Knicks have held on to Fournier tightly, hoping for the possibility of attaching that contract to a larger deal.
Going viral
It is difficult to find personality for the Knicks in the locker room or at a postgame podium. The franchise is notorious for valuing silence above all, and the idea is that if you must say something, try to say nothing in those words.
At least that is the policy and plan, but it's one that can’t always contain the new core of the roster.
The connection between Jalen Brunson and Hart started at Villanova and reignited when Hart joined the Knicks ahead of the trade deadline last season. A postgame media session became a comedy routine, with Brunson as the straight man to Hart’s playful antics.
With the two off to their offseason locales — and joined by another Villanova alum in DiVincenzo — the act has shifted to social media. And while Knicks executives may be cringing at certain things, such as Hart’s eating habits in the news conferences, it’s going over well otherwise.
One of the most recent exchanges came after DiVincenzo signed to unite the trio again and Brunson provided what sounded like a straight-faced message, writing on Twitter, “Let’s get one thing straight, stop asking me about josh. Don’t ask about Donte. I don’t like them they’re not my boys. They are coworkers. Nothing more. Thank you.”
Hart quote-tweeted the message, adding, “So why you just FaceTime me?”
When fans were asked for questions, one came to Brunson asking, “Biggest pro and con of being teammates with @joshhart?” He replied, “Biggest con is that there are no pros.”
It’s not just jabs at each other. When Hart tweeted that he and Brunson were joining up with Mikal Bridges as part of Team USA for the FIBA World Cup, uniting the three Villanova players, naming the trio and commenting, “We teammates again,” Bridges, now the leader of the Nets, quote-tweeted that with “#tampering, where’s Adam,” referencing NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
And when Philadelphia’s Tobias Harris was quoted on an aggregation site that, “casual Sixers fans will trade me for a Crumbl cookie,” Hart quote-tweeted it with “Crumbl cookies go crazy though.”
As long as they are playing well and the team is winning, the front office may do no more than roll its eyes. So root for wins, because it’s entertainment that the Knicks have not provided in years.
They’d better play well, especially if social media is going to include things like a fan asking Brunson, “Who wins in a Game of 1 on 1: Thibs or Leon Rose, or does everyone lose?” Brunson answered, “Are we talking prime Leon and Thibs or right now?”
Speaking of trash talk
Expect Hart and Brunson to have something to say now that Barrett has committed to play for Team Canada in the World Cup.
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.
