Why did Rob Dillingham go to Minnesota Timberwolves? Exploring San Antonio Spurs' trade of 8th pick

The Minnesota Timberwolves landed an interesting prospect in Rob Dillingham, who was the No. 8 overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs in tonight's 2024 NBA Draft. The Spurs moved the former Kentucky guard to the Wolves in the first, and thus far only, trade involving the top 10 picks of the draft.

NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the Timberwolves gave up an unprotected first-rounder in 2031 and a pick swap in 2030 to the Spurs in exchange for Dillingham.

"Timberwolves traded 2031 unprotected first-rounder and a 2030 swap (top 1 protected) to Spurs for Rob Dillingham, sources say," the insider wrote on X earlier today.

The Spurs had earlier selected Connecticut guard Stephon Castle with the No. 4 overall pick to pair him up with their generational talent Victor Wembanyama.

As for the Timberwolves, with Mike Conley aging and Anthony Edwards being more of a finisher rather than a playmaker, they could use Dillingham in the future. However, the Kentucky player doesn't possess the best play-making abilities either, which is something Chris Finch and company will have to fix.

Dillingham is a terrific shot-maker who can create his own opportunities, but his playmaking and defense are poor in comparison to his scoring ability. This is why one analyst warned that he could slide in the draft tonight.

"Ron Holland and Rob Dillingham are in 'jeorpardy' of sliding in the draft tonight, per @NBADraftWass," NBA Central wrote on X.

Rob Dillingham is set to join a Timberwolves team coming off a terrific season. They were close to making it to the NBA Finals this campaign until Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving stopped them in the Western Conference finals.

Rob Dillingham explains how adversities helped him through this basketball journey

Prior to the NBA Draft, Rob Dillingham sat with Shams Charania to discuss a variety of topics. The player had the chance to talk about how he's coped with adversities and how they've helped him evolve.

"Honestly, just like my life before getting to school was just preparing me for that moment because like I've been through a lot of difficult times, where you don't have someone to talk to you and you don't have someone to motivate you, so you gotta motivate yourself," Dillingham told Charania.

[1:38 mark]

He's now about to face the biggest challenge of his life, and he'll need that resilience to make it in a league as competitive as the NBA.