Ahead of the NBA trade deadline, the Minnesota Timberwolves feel primed to make a move to bolster their depth and, more specifically, their point guard depth. Rob Dillingham appears to be the team's top trade candidate as the second-year guard is out of the rotation after struggling earlier in the year. Of course, that stings given the Wolves traded up to the No. 8 pick in 2024 to draft the young guard. In doing so, the Wolves sacrificed an unprotected 2031 pick and a 2030 pick swap.
Whiffing on a draft pick (especially at a position of need) is painful enough. However, the draft capital Minnesota invested truly makes this move crushing, and ahead of the trade deadline, it hurts the Wolves' possible moves.
Notably, the Wolves are one of two teams (the Phoenix Suns being the other) without a tradable unprotected first-round pick. Now, the Wolves do have a 2028 pick swap to use. Regardless, with Anthony Edwards being 24 and the Wolves' impressive all-around roster, this pick swap has limited value.
Of course, the Wolves gutted much of their draft capital to trade for Rudy Gobert. There's no debating that this move has been worthwhile, though, as the Wolves have made two straight conference finals with Gobert anchoring the defense. Conversely, trading for Dillingham has proved to be a brutal mistake, which is hampering the Wolves' trade deadline flexibility.
Giving up future assets for Dillingham hurts the Wolves' trade flexibility
It's fair to wonder who the Wolves could trade for if they had access to an extra unprotected pick and a pick swap. While it's far from a guarantee that the Wolves could make a truly game-changing move if they had these extra assets, it certainly would give them a better chance.
As it stands, the Wolves are most connected to point guard upgrades ahead of the trade deadline. With Collin Sexton and Coby White considered higher-end targets. Even with some extra capital, I don't think the Wolves would be interested in star guards such as Ja Morant. Likewise, the market will always dictate what trade options teams have.
Nevertheless, if the Wolves had some extra draft capital, they would have a better chance at prying away a better guard than the ones they're looking at. Jalen Suggs comes to mind as a guy the Wolves could try to target if they had some extra draft capital. Who knows, maybe that's unrealistic.
The point is the Wolves would clearly have more options with the extra draft capital if they never traded up for Dillingham. Even if the Wolves still preferred to pursue a high-quality role player, having some extra draft capital would have helped them make a stronger offer.
Perhaps the Wolves can make an impactful trade (there are a lot of names I like). Regardless, doing so will undoubtedly be difficult, and the Wolves could be forced to settle due to the draft capital they gave up to select Dillingham.