The Minnesota Timberwolves' guard play and depth have hurt them all season long. Thankfully, the Wolves solved this problem by trading for Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu. The Wolves also landed Julian Phillips while trading away Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and four second-round picks.
So here’s the final deal, per sources:
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) February 5, 2026
Wolves get Ayo Dosunmu, Julian Phillips.
Bulls get: Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, four seconds
However, one reason the Wolves' guard play has been so underwhelming is that Dillingham has been unable to contribute any meaningful minutes. The Wolves traded one first-round pick and a pick swap to draft Dillingham in the lottery back in 2024. The move was considered bold at the time, and while I was a long-time believer in Dillingham, there's no denying the start to his career has been disastrous.
In this trade, Tim Connelly and company are waving the white flag with Dillingham, something Chris Finch did months ago. The inclusion of four second-round picks shows just how low Dillingham's value plummeted. Yes, Dosunmu is a nice role player, and the trade is very much worth it. Regardless, if Dillingham had shown more flashes with the Wolves, this amount of draft capital wouldn't have been necessary.
Drafting Dillingham was unfortunately a mistake
On the season, Dillingham is averaging just 3.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists with 33.3/36.4/75 shooting splits. Dillingham's slender 6-foot-2 frame always made it an uphill battle for him to contribute defensively. And since he struggled to score, it was hard to justify him getting any real minutes.
Listen, I'm not giving up on the idea that Dillingham can be an NBA contributor, but developing was always going to be a difficult task for him on a Wolves team with title aspirations. Will the Bulls be any better, given that 99 percent of their roster is guards? It's unclear, but at least they can justify working him into the rotation more than the Wolves could.
The idea of Dillingham as a microwave scorer and dynamic playmaker is still enticing. Nevertheless, he clearly has plenty of work to do to reach his ceiling, and at times, he looked like he lost his confidence.
While it's sad to see how badly the Wolves whiffed on Dillingham in the draft, fans are hoping that he can rejuvenate his career with the Bulls.
Ironically, had the Wolves not traded up for Dillingham, they would have had more draft capital to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo or another big-name trade target. Who knows if this would have changed the equation, but I think it's worth noting.
Ultimately, while Dillingham's tenure with the Wolves was disappointing, the bright side is that Dosunmu looks to be an ideal piece off the bench.