LOS ANGELES — The wind chill on Thanksgiving Day morning in Minneapolis made it feel like 9 degrees outside when Donte DiVincenzo got into his car and drove into the Minnesota Timberwolves’ practice facility.
Not even two months had passed since DiVincenzo uprooted his family, including his wife and young son, and abruptly moved across the country from New York following the unexpected trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks. At the time, he was shooting 35 percent from the field, including 31.5 percent on 3-pointers, not the first impression he wanted to make with his new team and new town. He had just gone 1 of 6 from deep in a demoralizing home loss to the Sacramento Kings that dropped the Wolves to 8-10 on the season. His teeth were grinding on every shot, and Anthony Edwards could see it.
Edwards sent DiVincenzo a text message asking if he wanted to meet at the gym. Edwards had missed 15 of his 24 shots in that loss to the Kings, then criticized the team for being “soft,” saying that individual agendas were sabotaging the team-building effort. The Wolves had lost seven of their previous nine games, and something had to change. As he normally does, Edwards started the examination with himself.
The Timberwolves had played each of the two previous nights, and…
