The Tim Connelly era has been marked by big trades and draft day hits, but the Minnesota Timberwolves have to be regretting their decision to move up in the 2024 NBA Draft for Rob Dillingham.
At the time, it seemed like another Connelly masterclass. Minnesota was fresh off an appearance in the Western Conference finals, largely because of their stellar defense, so moving up to pick eight to add a scoring phenom like Dillingham made a lot of sense.
While his size and defense were always concerns, it was assumed that the rest of the roster had enough of that to compensate for the Kentucky product's weaknesses. Plus, the Timberwolves were able to keep pick 27 and select Terrence Shannon Jr. It took an unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap option to get the deal done with the San Antonio Spurs. Despite there being some clear logic to the trade, two future picks carried some level of risk.
After the Spurs bested the Timberwolves in the postseason, Minnesota will have some major decisions to make this offseason regarding the state of the roster. They already moved on from the young point guard. Less than two years into his career, Minnesota traded the North Carolina native to the Chicago Bulls alongside Leonard Miller and four second-round picks for Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips.
After trading Dillingham, it was clear that the Wolves messed up, but this offseason could truly highlight the significance of this mistake.
Trading for Dillingham hurts the Timberwolves' offseason moves
While Dosunmu has proven to be a perfect fit, the Wolves are surely missing the extra draft capital they gave up for Dillingham as they attempt to make a big move this summer. Connelly openly admitted this bold move backfired.
"We took a swing on a young player that we really liked," Connelly explained about the Dillingham trade. "It didn't work out here like we hoped. I think Rob is going to have a heck of a career, but you have to be creative, not just with the aprons, but with some of the market dynamics that we're facing that other places aren't. If we mess up, we'll mess up loudly. We're going to try and be as aggressive as possible."
On top of this, Dosunmu is an impending free agent. They are at risk of losing him after his impressive postseason run, the same way they lost Nickeil Alexander-Walker to free agency last year. Plus, the team doesn't have much draft capital to go start hunting in the trade market.
In addition to the draft day trade involving Dillingham, Connelly depleted the team's trove of picks back when he traded for Rudy Gobert. In fact, the Timberwolves only have one tradeable first-round pick before draft night.
Some fans are pleading for major roster changes, yet pursuing a star to team up with Edwards will be easier said than done without the necessary assets to entice a team to move on from a great player.
Connelly isn't going to shy away from big moves, so perhaps he will figure something out, but the Timberwolves have to be wishing they still had the draft capital that they gave up in the Dillingham trade back in 2024.
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