Exclusive | Donte DiVincenzo shuts down completely untrue Knicks rumors from before Timberwolves trade

Ahead of his return to MSG, Donte DiVincenzo denied the “completely untrue” rumors that he was upset the Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges because it would move him to the bench.“Obviously everyone wants to start coming off the season I had last year, but I also understand that there’s different lineups and different combinations that teams want to get to – I understand that.It was never a thing of, ‘Oh, we got Mikal, I’m pissed off.’ I was super excited,” DiVincenzo told The Post.

“Take the Villanova s–t out of it, I was super excited because we have a very good player coming back to the team.And you get OG [Anunoby] back, now you’re looking at, ‘Wow we’re going to be really good.’ There was never a conversation of my role was going to be diminished.

There was never a role that my minutes would be diminished.It was the outside assumption and ran with it and it was untrue.”DiVincenzo, now a member of the Timberwolves after last month’s blockbuster trade, was thrust into the Knicks’ starting lineup last season because of injuries and thrived well beyond expectations.

He set the franchise record for 3-pointers, led the Eastern Conference in treys after December and became New York’s second-leading scorer in the playoffs after Jalen Brunson.About a month after their postseason run ended, the Knicks used five first-round picks to acquire Bridges from Brooklyn.It not only bolstered the Villanova connection with four college teammates on the Knicks, but also created a logjam on the wings with three former Wildcats – Bridges, DiVincenzo and Josh Hart – all capable of starting.

Logic suggested Bridges would replace DiVincenzo in the lineup but that was never discussed with the 27-year-old.“There was no conversations with [coach Tom Thibodeau.] There was no conversations with [team president] Leon [Rose],” DiVincenzo said.“There was no conversations where it’s like, ‘Hey, we got Mikal, this is what you’re role is going t...