Donte DiVincenzo Might Earn A Sixth Man Of The Year Award This Season

The Minnesota Timberwolves' shooting guard could play a large role off the bench

This upcoming season will be an unpredictable one for the Minnesota Timberwolves. After trading franchise cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for a package that included Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, they will lean on rising star Anthony Edwards.

Nevertheless, DiVincenzo could be in for a hugely productive season.

Following last year’s performance with the Knicks, many believed that DiVincenzo would start for them this season. But now that he’s with the Timberwolves, the expectations of earning a starting position have diminished.

Considering that Edwards will still secure the Timberwolves’ starting shooting guard spot, DiVincenzo will come off the bench as the reserve shooting guard.

Throughout his seven-year career, DiVincenzo played a total of 354 games, 164 of them as a reserve. While coming off the bench, he averaged 8.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. Within the 190 games he started, he averaged 12.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.

DiVincenzo could build on his amazing season

Last season was DiVincenzo’s best one in terms of scoring. In the 81 games he played, he averaged a career-high 15.7 points while shooting at an elite level. Even though his 3-point shooting were always his bread and butter, he still averaged a career-high 3.5 3-pointers while shooting a career-high 40.1% from that area.

He even earned more praise when he played a huge factor in last year’s playoffs. Although the Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, DiVincenzo averaged 17.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.2 steals.

DiVincenzo on the Timberwolves’ roster can be a win-win situation. Considering their bench rotation includes rookie Rob Dillingham, Joe Ingles, and Naz Reid, the amount of scoring might not be favorable. With DiVincenzo coming off the bench alongside them, he will leave a huge impact in that column.

Granted, Reid won Sixth Man of the Year last year, but it was during a time when he had to carry a low-scoring bench. Now that DiVincenzo is on the roster, the bench's scoring load could possibly fall on him. If he plays the way he did last year, it’s possible that he could earn his first Sixth Man of the Year award.

With Edwards carrying most of the team’s responsibility, it could allow DiVincenzo opportunities to continue showcasing his skills.

Cory Nelson is a contributor to The Lead. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson, Instagram @ckenzynelson, and Threads @ckenzynelson