We all know how it ended up between Paolo Banchero and the Italian national team, with Gianmarco Pozzecco’s squad first losing the opportunity to have him on board and then playing against the Orlando Magic‘s superstar in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Quarter-Finals.
Despite all of that, there could be another NBA player possibly committing to play with Italy this summer, being naturalized. In an interview conceded to The New York Post, in fact, Donte DiVincenzo said that he “would ideally love to” wear the blue jersey.
American raised in an Italian family, after not being included in USA Basketball’s 41-man pool ahead of this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, Donte DiVincenzo is now hoping to make it there with the Italian national team. “Logistically and how everything plays out, I don’t know if it’s possible. But if everything works out perfectly, I would love to. Multiple factors weigh into this”, he commented.
Averaging 13.6 points per game with the New York Knicks, he would bring another dimension to Italy. “There’s a few more hoops to jump through. But it’s something I told my family, my agent, that I wanted to do, to be able to represent a country. And hopefully, I can get all the paperwork done and be out there as soon as possible”, the 27-year-old commented.
Jalen Brunson, who played against Italy in the Philippines, also commented about his opportunity for his teammate. “That’d be cool. That’s an opportunity for him and if he wants to do it, I’d be more than happy to support him in that decision. If we do play or don’t play or whatever, it is what it is because we’ve had a lot of battles”, he said about Donte DiVincenzo possibly playing for Italy.
After entering the global Top 8 at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the Italian national team will now face Bahrain and Puerto Rico in the first phase of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, trying to ultimately get to the Olympic Games in Paris.
Donte DiVincenzo is the answer at the two.
It’s been the biggest revelation for the Knicks, who have not gotten the production they expected out of Quentin Grimes in the starting lineup at the shooting guard spot this season.
Grimes’ cold shooting streak continued with another donut behind the arc in the Knicks’ 119-106 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
The third-year guard sat the entire fourth quarter for the second game in a row — and DiVincenzo, in both games of a back-to-back, played the entire fourth quarter for head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Grimes is now shooting just 4-of-20 from behind the arc in his last six games, including back-to-back games shooting zero percent from downtown. He scored just four points in the win.
DiVincenzo lit the Raptors up and tied a career-high set earlier this season with seven threes in Toronto on Friday. He is 11-of-17 from downtown over the past two games and is shooting 44% from downtown on the season.
All of DiVincenzo’s field goals have come from behind the arc. The veteran finished with 21 points.
“The two I missed today I think I forced them,” he said in his walk-off interview. “When I let them come to me, they went in, and I’ve gotta just keep doing that.”
It’s a sensitive, yet important topic to touch given the roster construction for the team that resides at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks very clearly have a logjam at the guard spot with Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett playing a large majority of the minutes at the one and three.
The Knicks promoted Grimes to the starting spot over Evan Fournier last season due to his ability to defend the opposing team’s best player and knock down threes, but his shot hasn’t fallen. He is entering the third year of his rookie contract and will be eligible for an extension next summer.
“There’s ups and downs. Just be mentally tough,” Thibodeau said of Grimes’ struggles after Thursday’s donut against the Pistons. “Play defense. Run the floor. You don’t know when it changes. It could change the next play. You get an easy bucket. A shot goes down. He’s a good player. So you’ve gotta navigate the good. You can navigate them when it gets tough.
“Soldier on. That’s it. Just keep going.”
The Knicks, however, have already paid DiVincenzo to the tune of $47 million over the next four seasons.
He is proving well worth the investment. He looks like a starter who is coming off the bench.
Bench depth is one of the Knicks’ biggest strengths.
Case-in-point: Josh Hart rattled off 15 straight points in the third quarter to create separation from a feisty Raptors team on Friday.
In a game Julius Randle gutted-out with knee soreness, the Knicks’ bench tallied 52 points with Hart scoring 17 points and Immanuel Quickley adding 10 of his own.
There is something to be said, however, for putting your best foot forward. DiVincenzo is making a case to be just that — the Knicks’ best foot at the two-guard spot — and it’s hard to deny his impact while Grimes’ cold shooting rages on through the season.
Scottie Barnes scored 29 on 13-of-19 shooting from the field, and Pascal Siam added 21 points for Toronto, but the Knicks held OG Annoy to just 4-of-13 shooting from the field and one-of-six shooting from downtown. Barrett mustered just 15 points on 18 shot attempts in his first game back in Canada this season, but added six assists.
And after hanging 42 points on the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, Jalen Brunson scored 22 timely points to help lift the Knicks to victory.
The Knicks and Raptors were tied at 57 at halftime before the Knicks outscored them 33-20 in the third quarter. The Knicks are now 10-0 against teams with a losing record.
Their next game, however, won’t be easy.
The Knicks advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament and have three days off before traveling to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on Tuesday.
If they win, they will advance to the Las Vegas rounds for a chance to win $500k and the first-ever NBA Cup.
Leave a Reply