Chris Finch didn't need a sales pitch. When asked Wednesday at the Minnesota Timberwolves' practice whether Donte DiVincenzo required any buy-in to take on different responsibilities with Minnesota, Finch shut the premise down immediately. The buy-in was never the problem. It was never even a conversation.

"It was never hard to get him to buy into anything," Finch said. That's not a surprising statement at all. Everyone knows DiVincenzo's role with the Timberwolves has evolved game to game, situation to situation.

He's been asked to cut, to space, to initiate, to be a secondary playmaker. And through all of it, he's never pushed back. Finch saw the fit from the beginning, envisioning a guy who could do the things Golden State used him for as an off-ball cutter, the things New York used him for as a spot-up shooter, and more on top of that.

The problem, Finch explained, has never been DiVincenzo's willingness. It's primarily been Minnesota's execution.

Finch didn't dance around it. When this offense doesn't get DiVincenzo going in rhythm, they end up forcing the ball to him at the wrong time, in the wrong spot, with defenders already locked in on him.

"We force the ball to him, and then he feels obligated to make something happen, whether it be for himself or others, and that's where we've gotten in trouble," Finch said. That's a coaching staff owning it. DiVincenzo's rough stretches this season haven't been an indictment on Donte himself. 

When the ball finds him naturally, when he's already moving and the defense is already scrambling, he makes good decisions. He gets downhill, he makes the right pass, he knocks down the shot. When he's getting the ball forced to him as an afterthought, he's put in a position nobody succeeds in.

It's a subtle but important distinction, and Finch making it publicly matters. He's not throwing DiVincenzo under the bus. He's doing the opposite. He's saying his guy has been put in tough spots and responded to them the best he could.

The encouraging part of Finch's assessment is that it's fixable. DiVincenzo doesn't need a new attitude, a new skillset, or a new role. He needs this offense to do its job first so he can do his.

"To get the best version of him, we've got to be the best version of us," Finch said.

That framing puts the responsibility exactly where it belongs. DiVincenzo's value to this team has always been tied to how well Minnesota moves the ball and generates rhythm. When they're humming, he's a connector, a cutter, a guy who makes winning plays without needing the spotlight.

When they're stagnant, he gets the ball in spots where nobody looks good. The Timberwolves have enough talent to be the best version of themselves. When they get there, don't be surprised if DiVincenzo is one of the guys benefiting most.