When Rob Dillingham was selected eighth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, he certainly had to expect to be a key piece for the Minnesota Timberwolves. After just one year of college ball, sure, maybe he wouldn’t have a huge role as a rookie joining a team that reached the conference finals the previous season.
His second season, though, would be one in which he gains a much larger role, right?
That hasn’t been the case. Since being usurped by Bones Hyland in the rotation, Dillingham hasn’t received anything other than garbage time minutes. The Timberwolves are reportedly not against dealing Dillingham, and a change of scenery could unlock meaningful playing time for the 21-year-old guard.
Could Rob Dillingham be on the move?
In his rookie year, Dillingham averaged 10.5 minutes in his 49 appearances. This season, he’s down to 10.0 in 30 games. He played at least 20 minutes in six outings as a rookie. This season, that has only happened once.
With Mike Conley now 38 years old and coming off major postseason struggles, the expectation was for Dillingham to see much more playing time this season. Instead, it’s become evident that Chris Finch still has no trust in the wiry guard.
On his latest Substack article, Jake Fischer brought up Dillingham possibly being traded.
"I have heard, by the way, that parting with Dillingham is indeed on the table," Jake Fischer wrote. "The Wolves were certainly aggressive in acquiring the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to select Dillingham, but he simply hasn't been able to fill Minnesota’s playmaking needs as quickly as hoped and could well benefit from a change of scenery."
It would be disappointing to see Minnesota give up on a 21-year-old after giving up a future first-round pick and a future first-round pick swap to get the eighth pick in 2024 to select him. If they can get something in return that helps them now, though, it’s somewhat understandable.
On the season, Dillingham is averaging just 3.7 points and only shooting 34.1% from the field.
Could get more playing time on a worse team
The Timberwolves are clearly trying to win. They are coming off back-to-back conference finals appearances and own a 25-13 record this season that is tied for third-best in the Western Conference.
Barring injury, Dillingham will have trouble re-entering the rotation as Minnesota fights for playoff seeding. They may even trade for a point guard, as has been heavily rumored, which would put him further outside of it.
A win-now move could involve dealing Dillingham and his tradeable contract. Perhaps it would be to a team far out of the playoff hunt, and that’s okay.
Dillingham would be able to further develop with more playing time. He wouldn’t have to worry about being yanked from the game by Finch after a mistake on the court. Sometimes you can tell quickly that a change of scenery is necessary, and that looks to be the case here.