"Who are the Knicks? Brunson, Brunson and some other Knickas" " - Official '23 NYK Offseason Thread

[Youhadasparkwhenustarted]

KAT is mediocre as a 4 and that experiment should die. He's way better as a 5.

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Feel like this Donte deal is done and it’s been done like a while ago.

 

[Wargames]

Yeah but it’s been a disaster. KAT rebounding and post game have all suffered for it.

I think it’s more a testament to how bad KaT is defensively that they got Gobert

Feel like this Donte deal is done and it’s been done like a while ago.

You’re not wrong but he was always going to opt out for more money.

 

[Wargames]

 

[In The Zone '98]

Sigh...

 

[OsO]

Wtf the Knicks need with a Dante DiVincinzo?

If that's the case just run it back with D. Rose and give him the playing time.

 

[g-ice]

Wtf the Knicks need with a Dante DiVincinzo?

If that's the case just run it back with D. Rose and give him the playing time.

The guy just shot 40% from 3 last season and y’all out here talking about what they need with him. Jesus fukking Christ!

 

[storyteller]

It makes no sense for the Knicks to trade for him, but I been saying I think he'd body in Thibs' system for a long time.

 

[OsO]

The guy just shot 40% from 3 last season and y’all out here talking about what they need with him. Jesus fukking Christ!

Get out of the analytics. He was inconsistent, especially in the playoffs.

Plus the Knicks already have Brunson, IQ, Grimes, Barrett, McBride, and even D. Rose who can play backcourt minutes.

What they need to do is find the best wing they can. And that sure ain't Dante DiVincinzo.

 

[g-ice]

Get out of the analytics. He was inconsistent, especially in the playoffs.

Plus the Knicks already have Brunson, IQ, Grimes, Barrett, McBride, and even D. Rose who can play backcourt minutes.

What they need to do is find the best wing they can. And that sure ain't Dante DiVincinzo.

He was inconsistent, and guess what our players were too. Thats a null and void argument.

The guy was a consistent player for the Warriors off the bench all season and showed versatility by playing multiple positions and shooting a pt a high rate from the perimeter.

 

[In The Zone '98]

He was inconsistent, and guess what our players were too. Thats a null and void argument.

The guy was a consistent player for the Warriors off the bench all season and showed versatility by playing multiple positions and shooting a pt a high rate from the perimeter.

Knicks just won 50 games. This guy is not the missing piece.

 

[g-ice]

Knicks just won 50 games. This guy is not the missing piece.

You putting words in my mouth because at no point did I say that.

He would be a nice piece considering the trouble this team has shooting from 3 and y’all know this is true.

 

[TOAD99]

Donte would be a good piece for any team to have

Especially our team that struggles to hit the 3 well consistently

 

[g-ice]

Donte would be a good piece for any team to have

Especially our team that struggles to hit the 3 well consistently

Exactly and he would be coming off the bench whom last season would struggle in deep stretches from 3.

 

[storyteller]

Begley did a really good job covering every angle on the Divincenzo rumors. FIrst, how it works financially and why Josh Hart extending his opt-in time was so important...

In some ways, it starts with Josh Hart. Hart, DiVincenzo’s college teammate at Villanova, has a $13 million player option for 2023-24. He was widely expected to opt out of the deal and become a free agent. But the Knicks and Hart recently agreed to push the date to decide on the option to Thursday. This suggests that Hart’s decision could impact a corresponding move for New York. I assume that corresponding move involves making a run at DiVincenzo. As SNY reported, prominent members of the Knick organization are in favor of pursuing DiVincenzo in free agency. There is mutual interest between the Knicks and DiVincenzo.

New York will have competition. Minnesota, Chicago and Detroit are among the teams with interest in DiVincenzo, as other outlets have reported.

Minnesota and Chicago both could have access to the non-taxpayer midlevel exception. Detroit projects to have cap space and could exceed the amount of the exception available to New York, Chicago and Minnesota

Where does Hart figure in?

If Hart opts in to the final year of his contract, it would give the Knicks more room before the first apron of $172 million.

That room is important if a team executes a transaction that gives them a ‘hard-cap’ at the first apron. This means they would not be able to spend above $172 million in team salary.

One transaction that caps a team at the first apron? Using the non-taxpayer midlevel exception. The Knicks would use the exception to sign DiVincenzo (or another player). If they did, the Knicks would not be able to spend more than $172 million in team salary.

There is another transaction that caps a team at the first apron: a trade in which the Knicks accept a player via sign-and-trade or a trade in which they take back more than 110 percent of the salary they send out.

The Knicks currently have $160 million in salary for 2023-24 (including cap holds and the Hart opt-in).

So signing a player to the full midlevel exception puts them right around the apron. (An aside, Jeremy Cohen does a great job explaining potential cap scenarios in the Knicks Film School podcast. Cohen breaks down the impact of the Hart option in this episode)

Next up we get to the basketball reasons for the signing. DiVincenzo had a really strong season, and he brings elements the Knicks covet for their rotation.

DiVincenzo averaged 9.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last season with the Warriors. He put up those numbers in just 26 minutes per game. He also hit 39.7 percent of his three-point attempts last years, trailing only Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in that category.

If he can replicate that shooting, DiVincenzo would help the Knicks space the floor. DiVincenzo, a college teammate of Jalen Brunson, is also a strong cutter on offense.

On the other side of the ball, DiVincenzo is viewed as a strong team defender who is adept off the ball, navigating screens and defending passing lanes. The 6-4 guard is also an exceptionally strong rebounder for his position.

“Donte’s been one of our best players night in and night out,” Steve Kerr said last season after a Warriors win over Milwaukee.

The numbers support Kerr’s statement.

DiVincenzo is one of five players who started between 15-40 games to average at least nine points and three assists and shoot at least 37 percent from beyond the arc. The other four? Austin Reeves, Tyus Jones, Caris LeVert and New York’s Immanuel Quickley.

When DiVincenzo played between 30-39 minutes last season, Golden State was 15-10. The club outscored opponents by 157 points in those games.

Last we get into the impact on the current roster. Begley's speculating the same thing I am. Signing DiVincenzo would be a precursor to a follow-up move(s). The Knicks would be able to package one (or more) of their young wings with Fournier's expiring to bring in a new piece.

DiVincenzo’s skill set seems similar to Hart’s. But it seems like you can’t have enough guards/wings who can defend and shoot in today’s NBA. DiVincenzo and Hart both are versatile enough to defend multiple positions.

So the Knick coaching staff can work both players into the rotation in various ways.

The problem is finding a spot in the rotation for DiVincenzo. Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks turned their season around last year when they went to a nine-man rotation. All nine players are under contract for next season. If they add DiVincenzo, the Knicks could play a 10-man rotation in 2023-24. But that seems unlikely, based on the success they had last year when playing nine men.

So if they sign DiVincenzo, the Knicks may be looking to open a rotation spot via trade. Evan Fournier’s expiring contract has high value on the trade market. So perhaps Fournier could be paired with a rotation player (or two) to open up that spot for DiVincenzo.