On Thursday, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic did a 2024 NBA re-draft. His re-draft consisted of the first 20 picks. The Minnesota Timberwolves made a draft-day deal for the eighth overall pick in last year’s draft. He did not make the top 20, but a later first-round pick for the Wolves did.
Rob Dillingham slides outside of the top 20
The Timberwolves certainly believed in Dillingham. That is why they made a draft-day deal with the Spurs to acquire the eighth overall pick in exchange for a 2031 first round pick and the right to swap 2030 first round picks.
After an uneven rookie season marred by limited playing time, Vecenie placed Dillingham outside of his top 20. He lists him in his others section, and writes this about the 6-foot-1 point guard:I’m worried about his size and strength combination on defense, which is partly why I didn’t give him a lottery grade. He’ll be a backup this season for the Wolves, and it’ll be interesting to see if they can rely on him. Undeniably, he’s very skilled with the ball and can shoot.
Dillingham is slated for a larger role this season with Mike Conley soon turning 38 years old. Dillingham himself won’t turn 21 until January 4.
While it’s a bit concerning that Chris Finch had no faith in playing him in the postseason, it’s far too soon to give up on Dillingham. He has a rather high offensive ceiling and played better when he received 20+ minutes (albeit that was only in six games). In his one year at Kentucky, he connected on 44.4% of his three-point tries.
Terrence Shannon Jr. moves up 10 spots
It’s unfortunate that Finch waited as long as he did to insert Shannon Jr. into his postseason rotation. That only occurred in the last three outings of the Western Conference finals where he averaged nearly a point per minute (11.7 points in 12.3 minutes).
Vecenie placing him 17th is a ten-spot jump from where he was actually selected (27th).
"As long as he keeps shooting and doesn’t make too many bad decisions, he’s an interesting replacement for what the Wolves lost with Nickeil Alexander-Walker. He should earn a backup role this year for a team with championship aspirations."Sam Vecenie
While he was an older second-year player (turned 25 on July 30), Shannon Jr. has already proven that the pressures of the playoffs don’t affect him much. The athletic 6-foot-6 guard/forward frequented the free-throw line a lot during his two years at Illinois, something that should also be seen with more playing time this season.