NBA Insider officially kills the absurd Timberwolves trade rumor

The 2024-25 season hasn’t exactly gotten off to a good start for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Granted, making a major trade less than four weeks before the start of the season is a decision that will make life difficult for any team. But the Wolves have gone through public struggles that have left many wondering about the team’s future.

Fortunately, Anthony Edwards has made it clear that by far the biggest problem for this team is a mental block. When faced with high-level competition, they seem to be able to flip a switch and compete extremely hard. For the time being, they are still working on being able to engage that intensity also against the league’s bottom dwellers.

Meanwhile, there have been suggestions from fans about what trades they should make, as well as other rumors coming from random corners of the internet. This past week, one of the rumors that gained serious ground was one that claimed the Timberwolves may be open to moving Donte DiVincenzo, who of course they just acquired in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade.

Now, NBA Insider Marc Stein has stepped in to clear up any confusion on the subject. writes Stein in his latest publication Sunday (subscription required):

I saw all kinds of Twitter chatter on Friday about the supposed status of Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo as a trade target for contending teams. That flies in the face of everything I’ve heard about the Wolves, who wanted DiVincenzo for more than a year before actually signing him and are said to have no interest in making inquiries about him not yet three full months into his wolf period.

Given how connected Stein is in the NBA world and given his track record of credibility, it appears that this rumor of DiVincenzo being a potential trade is toast. This seems to make a lot more sense than the notion that they were seeking to move on from him.

Donte may have struggled shooting the ball in the first month of his tenure in Minnesota, but giving up on a great shooter because he’s in a November slump is a completely ridiculous idea. DiVincenzo’s shot splits will eventually return to the norm, and he’s still getting used to his new teammates.

It’s also worth noting that Stein reports that the Timberwolves “wanted DiVincenzo for more than a year” before trading for him. This obviously means that president Tim Connelly had a vision for Donte on this team, and it’s highly unlikely that DiVincenzo has done anything over 16 games to completely change Connelly’s mind.