"S**t should have been handled better" - Jalen Brunson addresses Knicks altercation with Donte DiVincenzo
Jalen Brunson addressed the elephant in the room on The Roommates Show this week. Earlier this month, the New York Knicks parted ways with Donte DiVincenzo, sending him and Julius Randle to the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of a trade for Karl-Anthony Towns.
When DiVincenzo returned to Madison Square Garden last week for a preseason clash between the Knicks and the Timberwolves, he didn't hesitate to chirp at his former team.
Specifically, after telling media members that if it were up to him, he would hit a 3-pointer in front of Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau rather than pick whether he would prefer to knock the shot down over Jalen Brunson or Josh Hart, he was seen talking a bit of trash to his former team while at the line.
Then, after the game, Jalen Brunson's dad, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, walked over and appeared to say something to DiVincenzo which resulted in a tense back-and-forth that led to the two being separated.
During The Roommates Show on Oct. 18, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart spoke about the situation, with Brunson saying:
"I feel like we have to talk about it, you know, families fight. Things are said. I mean sh*t should have been handled better on both sides but everyone thinks the world's crumbling. I also feel like it (the trade) happened a week and a half ago and all of a sudden we're playing them. That never really happens."
"I wear my heart on my sleeve" - Donte DiVincenzo gets candid about trash talk with Jalen Brunson's dad and Knicks bench
Following the Knicks-Timberwolves clash earlier in the week, Donte DiVincenzo spoke with media members postgame, where he was asked about the situation. Rather than brush off the question, DiVincenzo explained that his comments were nothing more than competitive trash talk.
His comments echoed a similar sentiment to the one shared by Josh Hart on The Roommates Show this week, where he explained that after you get traded and play against the team that traded you, it often feels personal.
As DiVincenzo explained:
"Obviously they had me on video saying it, I'm not there anymore. I play competitive. I wear my heart on my sleeve and that's all it was."
Of course, given the trash talk between the two sides, the NBA community is eager to see the two teams battle it out during the regular season. Following Sunday's preseason game, the Knicks and Timberwolves will collide on Dec. 19 in Minnesota, before then meeting on Jan. 17 in New York.
Given that the two teams compete in different conferences, unless they were to both make it to the NBA Finals, we won't have a chance to see them square off with one another again after the regular-season duels.