Availability is supposed to be a strength, and for years Donte DiVincenzo had built his reputation on exactly that. Then Game 4 of last spring’s first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets changed the picture for the Timberwolves.
Since his rookie year, DiVincenzo had suited up for 471 of 555 possible regular-season games, just under 85 percent. Last season, he was even more dependable, starting all 82 regular-season games before an Achilles’ injury ended his postseason run.
Now Minnesota has to open the 2026-27 season without him, and the ripple effects go well beyond simply losing another body in the rotation. The Wolves had added Ayo Dosunmu at the trade deadline with the idea of pairing him with DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards. Instead, Dosunmu is now part of the answer to replacing DiVincenzo for much of the season.
The biggest hole is obvious: shooting. DiVincenzo led the Timberwolves in both three-point attempts and three-pointers made last season, and among players who appeared in at least half of Minnesota’s regular-season games, he ranked third in three-point percentage.
He’s a career 38% shooter from deep, and over the three seasons before last year - split between Golden State, New York, and his first year in Minnesota - he knocked down 39.9% of his threes. The volume was just as important as the accuracy.
Over his last three seasons, he averaged 7.9 long-range attempts per game, with 73.5% of his field-goal attempts coming from beyond the arc.
The postseason showed how much that mattered. After DiVincenzo went down, Minnesota lost five of its final eight playoff games, and opponents were able to load up even harder on Edwards without DiVincenzo there as a pressure valve.
Dosunmu and Jaden McDaniels were the only real outside threats regularly sharing the floor with Edwards, but McDaniels was stuck in a prolonged shooting slump. Dosunmu did hit 34.8% of his threes after DiVincenzo’s injury, but that was a step down from his 43% regular-season mark.
LaMelo Ball’s arrival before the 2026-27 campaign changes the equation in a major way. With Ball running the show and Edwards getting more chances to work off the ball and fire as a catch-and-shoot threat, Minnesota’s plan gets a lot cleaner.
Ball’s range and second-side creation should also take pressure off Edwards. Even so, DiVincenzo’s absence still leaves the Wolves with one fewer high-level shooter for Chris Finch to deploy alongside his new point guard.
It also pushes more minutes toward the more volatile shooting of Bones Hyland and Terrence Shannon Jr., along with the non-shooting of Jaylen Clark.
When DiVincenzo does come back later in the season, Minnesota should regain a backcourt and wing group loaded with shooters. But for now, the Wolves have to manage without one of their more dependable options.
He isn’t a point guard, even if he was asked to play like one for much of last season. And he isn’t a lockdown defender.
Still, DiVincenzo gave Minnesota real steadiness in both areas over the last two seasons. He could handle the ball in pick-and-rolls and push in transition.
Without him, the ball-handling duties fall more heavily on Ball, Edwards, Dosunmu, and Hyland.
His defensive value was just as useful, even if it sometimes came with a heavy workload. DiVincenzo often drew the opponent’s top backcourt scorer, partly to ease the burden on Edwards and partly because of the presence of the aging Mike Conley. That assignment sometimes stretched him thin, but he usually held up and has long been a solid option against a team’s second-best perimeter scorer.
Ball isn’t known for his on-ball defense, but his length and instincts help when he’s roaming in help situations. That only becomes more useful if there are more on-ball defenders around him. Without DiVincenzo, Minnesota will lean on McDaniels, Dosunmu, Edwards, and Jonathan Kuminga to take those matchups, even though the Wolves would prefer McDaniels to stay freer as a weak-side rim protector.
Jaylen Clark put that idea plainly when asked whether having Ayo, JK, Ant, Joan, and others could let McDaniels spend more time off the ball: “Yeah, more weak side rim protector type thing. That'd be great because his shot block timing and everything, his length (is just great)."It also allows him to save…
The broader issue is not just one missing defender. It’s the shrinking list of options.
DiVincenzo has been the kind of player Finch can plug into almost any question and trust the answer. Without him early in the year, that flexibility disappears.
Minnesota already leans small, with plenty of dreams about five-out looks that put McDaniels or Kuminga at center and turn every possession into a sprint. The most realistic small lineup right now would feature Ball, Edwards, and Dosunmu in the backcourt, with some mix of Kuminga, McDaniels, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Trey Lyles up front. There just aren’t many other workable backcourt pairings; Clark doesn’t provide enough shooting or handling, and Hyland is too small for a group that would already be giving away rebounding.
DiVincenzo would add one more usable backcourt piece and open up more combinations for Finch to throw at opposing defenses. He also matters late.
In crunch time, you need shooting, ball security, free-throw accuracy, and the kind of veteran calm that comes from having been through playoff battles. DiVincenzo brings all of that, plus 58 career playoff games and a championship with the 2021 Bucks.
Minnesota is better equipped to survive his absence now than it was before the Dosunmu move and re-signing this summer. Even so, this is still a roster that feels a little light for a team aiming at a Finals run in the rugged Western Conference. When DiVincenzo is finally back, the Wolves will feel it.
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Edwards, the face of the franchise, has made clear he likes where this is headed and sees the group chasing something bigger than another strong regular season. The Western Conference is still loaded, of course, which is why the next step matters so much for Minnesota, and why Edwards health and the fit of the new roster will loom as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
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Balls offensive creativity would give Minnesota another layer, but his defense is the part that could keep opposing teams hunting for openings. The Wolves would likely need their existing stoppers to do extra work around him, especially in the kinds of lineups that can be exposed over long stretches. Edwards sounds convinced the team can absorb it, but it is the sort of roster gamble that will have fans watching every matchup possession a little closer. [Read more 🡒]
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What stands out so far is how naturally Ball has begun fitting into the room, with teammates sounding encouraged by the way he has blended into the group in the opening stages. Chris Finch has also pointed to the positive effect Ball has had on the team, a promising development for a club that needs its new pieces to click quickly if it wants this move to change the shape of its offense. [Read more 🡒]