There’s no easy way to say it, but we can’t and shouldn’t minimize how truly and completely financially screwed up the Minnesota Timberwolves were heading into this offseason and into the future. Seriously, they were in a very bad spot, so much so that one wondered what the hell they were going to do, salary cap-wise, given how much money they had spent on key players.
They didn’t have the means to make immediate upgrades, nor the financial flexibility to make significant hires. They were, for all intents and purposes, completely handcuffed.
That was, of course, until they decided to fool us all and pivot in a direction none of us thought they would take by acquiring the 8th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and selecting Rob Dillingham, giving up future draft picks to get a guy on a similar timeline to Anthony Edwards, their biggest star.
This was a smart play, period. Not only did they land an explosive goal scorer — something they’ve needed for a while now — but they also quite possibly found Edwards’ longtime partner at fullback, a task Mike Conley couldn’t handle given his age.
A day will come soon when Conley hangs them up, and when he does, the Wolves will be able to lean on Dillingham, who averaged 15.2 points and made 44.4 percent of his three-pointers at Kentucky while playing just 23.3 minutes per game.
At just 6’1″, Dillingham will always be a small guard and he has flaws. No one really knows if he can defend at the NBA level and it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever be a better playmaker than a scorer. But given the Wolves’ situation, the poor guys can’t be choosers and at least they’ve identified a guard who – at the very least – can function as a floor spacer, opening up the floor for Edwards and potentially Karl-Anthony Towns if he sticks around.
They also secured a player who is tied down to a four-year rookie contract, meaning they have control of the team for the foreseeable future, giving Wolves much-needed control of their own finances for once.
Dillingham, who is likely to replace Conley for at least the upcoming season, couldn’t learn the game from anyone better. Conley is a master of time and score management, and he is by all accounts one of the most reliable and positive players in the locker room in the entire league.
Those kinds of things matter, especially for a young player looking to become a leader himself.
For all the criticism that has been leveled at the Wolves for trading Gobert—and there is plenty of it, including from this writer—the Wolves made a truly surprising move in June that we should probably talk about more.
Unless otherwise stated, all statistics via NBA.com, PBP Statistics, Cleaning the window Or Basketball reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sports Betting.
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