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Donte DiVincenzo, Knicks agree on four-year, $50 million deal in Villanova reunion

Donte DiVincenzo, Knicks agree on four-year,  million deal in Villanova reunion

The Knicks are getting the band back together — the Villanova trio of Donte DiVincenzo, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. 

DiVincenzo is joining Brunson and Hart with the Knicks, agreeing to a four-year, $50 million deal to play for coach Tom Thibodeau, a source confirmed to The Post. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news.

The move had been rumored as a possibility for several days leading up to the start of the free agency period, and became even more likely when Hart opted into his $12.9 million player option that gave the capped-out Knicks the full $12.4 million mid-level exception to use on DiVincenzo.

He opted out of his $4.7 million player option on Tuesday. 

The 6-foot-4 guard was part of two national title teams with Brunson at Villanova and one with Hart.


Donte DiVincenzo shoots the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers.
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

DiVincenzo, 26, is known as a strong two-way player who puts the team first, similar to Brunson and Hart.

He was actually the highest draft pick of the three, going 26th overall to the Bucks in 2018, after a breakout NCAA Tournament in which he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. 

He comes to the Knicks following a strong year with the Warriors, one in which he shot a career-best 39.7 percent from 3-point range and averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.3 minutes per game.


Donte DiVincenzo (0) shoots the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3).
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

Jalen Brunson of the Knicks drives toward the basket against the Warriors’ Donte DiVincenzo in November 2022.
Getty Images

DiVincenzo posted a positive 2.9 NET rating, meaning the Warriors outscored the opposition by 2.9 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor.

Across his five-year NBA career, DiVincenzo is averaging 9.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and has shot 36.2 percent from deep over 24.3 minutes for the Bucks, Kings and Warriors. 

“He would fit I think well. He would give them another tough, hard-nosed player,” said Daniel Marks, a former Bucks scout who now serves as chief program strategist with Howard University’s men’s basketball program.

“Obviously, you got Jalen Brunson, you got Josh Hart. These are both guys that he’s familiar with. Those are types of players Thibodeau likes.

“He’s in the mold of a guy that ‘Thibs’ likes and that ‘Thibs’ leans on. Some of the stuff that kept Evan Fournier out of the lineup, lacking competitiveness defensively and lack of ability to impact the game without scoring, Donte will make an impact on the game even if he doesn’t score a lot of points.”


Jalen Brunson (1), Josh Hart (3), Donte DiVincenzo (10) and Darryl Reynolds (45) of the Villanova Wildcats in February 2017.
Getty Images

Donte DiVincenzo (10) and Jalen Brunson (1) of the Villanova Wildcats celebrate in April 2018.
NCAA Photos via Getty Images

One potential issue with the Knicks adding DiVincenzo is it creates a glut of undersized wings and guards, a group that includes Hart, Brunson, Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes.

The Knicks struggled to guard big wings last year.

It could lead to a trade to free up that logjam in the days to come, although the Knicks did use RJ Barrett and Hart on occasion at power forward a season ago. 

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