Rob Dillingham previously signed a six-year, $43.5 million contract with the Kentucky Wildcats! See Why…
With the eighth pick in the 2024 NBA draft, the San Antonio Spurs selected Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham.
But the Spurs will not be keeping Dillingham; he is being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 2031 first-round pick and 2030 pick swap, ESPN reports.
The 19-year-old combo guard is a one-and-done prospect, and was tabbed as a five-star recruit from ESPN and Rivals out of high school. Now, he takes his sharp shooting to the next level.
Here’s a quick overview on Dillingham:
Rob Dillingham scouting report
As a smaller guard, he is elite at creating own shot, through spot-up shooting or dribble penetration because of his speed and ball-handling. But he will need to get stronger and improve shot selection. Kentucky lost in the first round of the 2024 NCAA tournament, and Dillingham measured less in height and weight than he was listed in college.
NEW YORK CITY — The Minnesota Timberwolves are reported to have acquired the NBA’s eighth overall draft pick, Rob Dillingham, on Wednesday night.
Sources say the Wolves traded a 2031 unprotected first pick and a protected 2030 pick swap to the San Antonio Spurs for Dillingham.
The 6-foot-1, 164-pound Dillingham spent his only college season at Kentucky, averaging 15.2 points, 3.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 23.3 minutes per game while making 44.4% of his 3-point attempts. The native of North Carolina is a shot creator and dynamic scorer who can give the Timberwolves some needed production off the bench.
He was named SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year after leading Divison I with 474 points off the bench. He was also named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
The Timberwolves ended the most recent regular season 56-26 — the second-best season in its history. The team made it to the Western Conference finals before losing in five games to Dallas.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were among the first teams to send a few shockwaves through the league early in the 2024 NBA Draft. After the San Antonio Spurs selected Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, the news broke that he would be traded to the Timberwolves in exchange for a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a protected 2030 pick swap, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
It was a big move for the Timberwolves, who added an instant-impact scorer and playmaker in the Kentucky freshman. The most noteworthy aspect of the addition is that Dillingham can make an impact on an affordable rookie deal for a salary cap-strapped Minnesota team. With Dillingham, the Timberwolves may have found the long-term backcourt mate for Anthony Edwards
The Timberwolves have multiple question marks and decisions to make in the 2024 NBA offseason. Names like Kyle Anderson, Jordan McLaughlin, and Luke Garza were all on the roster last season but are slated to become free agents. While there’s likely to be more shake-ups with the Minnesota roster ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season, the biggest topics of debate could come around one of the team’s highest-paid players, Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns is due to make $49.245 million next season and is one of the three players slated to earn north of $42.3 million for the Timberwolves. Joining him is fellow big man Rudy Gobert (just north of $43.8 million) and Edwards ($42.3 million). While Minnesota is highly unlikely even to consider a trade that sends its young star in Edwards anywhere, Towns’ name has been a popular topic of discussion.
Timberwolves’ Brutal Salary Cap Situation Makes Dillingham Trade Even Better
Minnesota has no money to spend, but Dillingham helps improve roster immediately
While Towns’ future and the debate over how the franchise will approach the offseason and any potential trade looms large, their trade to acquire Dillingham in the draft provides a plug-and-play scorer to the roster immediately.
Dillingham played primarily a reserve role for the Wildcats last season, starting just one of the 32 games he played in. But that didn’t lessen his ability to impact the game frequently. The 19-year-old guard averaged an impressive 15.2 points, 3.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals in just 23.3 minutes per game during his freshman season.
The 6-foot-2 guard shot 47.5 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point range. In Kentucky’s conference tournament loss to Texas A&M, Dillingham was stellar with 27 points, seven assists and four rebounds over 29 minutes of action. His scoring ability will be a welcomed addition to the Timberwolves’ second unit in 2024-25, and it’s likely he’ll carve out a spot in the starting lineup down the road.
