"Take the Villanova s**t out of it" - Donte DiVincenzo opens up about being traded away from Knicks before playing with former teammates

The New York Knicks traded Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns on October 2. After the trade, rumors circulated that DiVincenzo was dissatisfied with his potentially reduced role when the Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges on June 25, which lead to the trade for Towns.

Bridges and DiVincenzo were teammates at Villanova and won two championships before being drafted into the NBA. DiVincenzo said he wasn't concerned about his reunion with his former college teammate or a potential sixth-man role, and decided to end the rumors about his trade to Minnesota:

"Take the Villanova s–t out of it," he said. "I was super excited because we have a very good player coming back to the team. There was never a conversation of my role was going to be diminished."

Fans were looking forward to the reunion of the Nova-Knicks after the trade for Bridges. However, the former college teammates couldn't play a single game together as the Knicks had eyes on Towns before the preseason games started.

DiVincenzo was an important player for the team last season. He had his best season with the Knicks, averaging 15.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists. The two-way player also shot 40.1% of his shots from beyond the arc, which is the first time in his career he shot at least 40% from long range.

The shooting guard performed even better during the postseason, averaging 17.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists. DiVo was an even better shooter from beyond the arc in the playoffs, with 42.5% from deep on 8.2 attempts per game.

This season, he'll be of service to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Also read: Ashley Nicole Moss drops emotional 4-word reaction on "Nova Knicks" quartet's pre-Donte DiVincenzo trade GQ issue

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No hard feelings for Donte DiVincenzo after the trade

While the trade caught Donte DiVincenzo off guard, that doesn't change how he treats the other Knicks players. After all, all four of them were with the same Villanova team during college. Since then, they've built lasting relationships and a brotherhood with each other.

In an interview with GQ Magazine, DiVo talked about being good friends with the other three 'Nova players.

"It’s not weird. We’re friends outside of basketball," DiVincenzo said. "It’s not like we just became friends in basketball and that’s the only thing we have friendship-wise. Those are my brothers. We could do the shoot, whether all of us play for four different teams or the same team. I think the timing of it was kind of funny."

DiVo claims he wasn't harmed by the deal even though he didn't speak with coach Tom Thibodeau or team president Leon Rose.

Also read: "We have more than enough"- Donte DiVincenzo keeps his composure after Nova alumni Josh Hart's injury