The NBA offseason is all about reflection and understanding how to improve. The Minnesota Timberwolves have their fair share of decisions to make this summer. However, one crucial decision is out of the team’s control. Donte DiVincenzo will likely miss the majority, if not the entire season, due to his Achilles tear during their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets.
Minnesota has other crucial decisions to make in the offseason. Ayo Dosunmu is an unrestricted free agent and could command a lofty salary. There’s a looming buzz about what the team should do with Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert. They might try to star hunt and trade for the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kyrie Irving.
Still, Donte DiVincenzo has been a crucial part of Minnesota’s schematics and its success in his two seasons with the team. His three-point shooting prowess, with impressive range, has allowed him to spot up all over the court and take advantage of sagging or help defenders. Teams can manufacture spacing. Still, when DiVincenzo is on the court, he’s a walking advantage offensively away from the ball.
DiVincenzo is limited inside the arc, where he shot 56%, ranking in the 14th percentile among NBA wings, according to Cleaning the Glass. Still, the Wolves missed DiVincenzo’s ability to be lethal one pass away from on-ball threats, such as Anthony Edwards. They also needed his ability to flow into secondary actions with a screener like Rudy Gobert after he went down with an Achilles tear.
The Timberwolves could have used DiVincenzo as a three-point shooter in the second round against Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet’s deep drop coverage.
Defensively, DiVincenzo can be Minnesota’s chaos agent. He’s only 6’5”, but he has been viable as a low help tagger on the baseline. He has thrived by cutting passing lanes, winning 50/50 balls, and deflecting passes. Players like Jaylen Clark will likely replace DiVincenzo’s defense. Still, DiVincenzo’s blend of three-point shooting and defensive disruption is hard for the team to match with a single player.
Minnesota missed DiVincenzo in the playoffs. Looking forward, it’s difficult to project how the Timberwolves could fill this role for the next regular season. The upcoming season could be similar to the two seasons between the trades that sent Malik Beasley to the Utah Jazz as part of the package for Rudy Gobert and the trade that got DiVincenzo in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade.
During that two-season gap, there was a clear need for movement shooting, someone who can offer a threat to the opponent’s defense when coming off of early offense pindowns, and off-ball movement. Sometimes they just need someone to lift from the corner or relocate to an open space on the perimeter, or someone who can pose a threat to the opponent’s defense when coming off early offense pin-downs. That role remains invaluable within Minnesota’s offensive ecosystem.
Other players like Naz Reid and Anthony Edwards can cover for some of DiVincenzo’s three-point shooting. Still, the Wolves will need more shooting to fill the void heading into next season.
The Timberwolves could use their 28th pick to draft a shooter like Duke’s Isaiah Evans or Arkansas’ Meleek Thomas. However, chances are slim that they find a rotational player that deep into the first round. Chris Finch is also likely to lean on other rotational players or incoming veterans over developing players.
Minnesota would be wise to have a contingency plan to add another shooting option from the draft to the young core. Still, it should not be relied on the draft for immediate impact.
DiVincenzo is likely to miss around 60 to 80 games, depending on how he recovers from his injury. So, there will be a hole too big for the Timberwolves to ignore. It’s also hard to project how DiVincenzo’s play will be when he returns, and how adamant the Wolves will be about rushing him back for another potential playoff run.
The Timberwolves could really shake things up this offseason. They could add another role player through a trade acquisition to potentially fill in some of the minutes lost from Donte DiVincenzo. Nonetheless, DiVincenzo’s injury could not have come at a worse time for the team, as they try to work around cap restrictions and retool the roster to compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the growing San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference.
