Of late, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has been going with a 10-man rotation. Of the five reserves that receive playing time, though, only Naz Reid and Mike Conley are consistently seeing more than double-digit minutes.
Two of the other three, Jaylen Clark and Terrence Shannon Jr., seem to be playing better of late and producing more. The one that hasn’t is Rob Dillingham, whose minutes continue to decrease to the point where it shouldn’t even be a shock if he eventually falls completely out of the rotation if his play doesn’t turn around.
After the Timberwolves recent game against the Pelicans, head coach Chris Finch praised Clark and TSJ but didn't mention Dillingham when discussing the contributions of the Wolves' young players.
Asked Chris Finch about rolling with a 10-man rotation since Terrence Shannon Jr. returned from injury and what he saw from Shannon, Jaylen Clark and Rob Dillingham tonight in those end of the rotation roles.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) December 5, 2025
"We're trying to stay to committed to giving them minutes as they… pic.twitter.com/SEY75x3RaN
Dillingham isn't playing much or scoring much
At this point, Dillingham has to know his stints on the court won’t last long. In Thursday’s win over the Pelicans, the 20-year-old played about 4.5 minutes in the second quarter and 3.5 in the third, without seeing action in the first or fourth. His outing was completed with two points on 1-3 shooting to go along with three assists.
It almost seems as if Finch doesn’t want to give up on the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft by playing him every night, but the minutes are very scarce. Thursday marked the 10th time in the last 12 outings where Dillingham didn’t reach a double-figure minute total. The 8:11 of game action he played on Thursday was actually his most in four games.
It’s hard to put up numbers with such minimal playing time, but Dillingham needs to do more to show he deserves more time on the court. In three of his last six contests, the 6-foot-2 guard has gone scoreless. Through his 20 appearances, just once has he scored at least 10 points (11 against the Kings on November 9).
With other young players doing more while also not getting much playing time, their minutes could increase at the expense of Dillingham.
Shannon and Clark have been outplaying Dillingham
As someone who is an excellent defender, Clark’s way to get more action is by being more consistent on the offensive end. While it’s a small sample size, in the last three games, Clark has scored 26 points while making 6-12 from beyond the arc.
In early to mid-November, Shannon missed nine straight contests with a left foot fifth metatarsal bone bruise. In his first game returning from injury, he didn’t score in his seven-plus minutes of action. In the next two games, he totaled 28 points. While he has just 13 over the last three outings, he also has 10 free throw attempts in just 29 minutes.
With Minnesota ranking fourth-to-last in bench scoring, Finch needs to find someone other than Reid who can consistently put the ball in the hoop from their reserves. Right now, Shannon has proven to be more reliable than Dillingham at doing so. If Dillingham can’t do so at a much greater level than Clark, who has a much greater advantage as a defensive player than Dillingham, then Clark will continue to see more minutes than him.