The Timberwolves’ decision to move on from Rob Dillingham keeps looking smarter by the week.
Last week, the Bulls sent the ex-Timberwolves guard to the Hornets for Buddy Hield, and Charlotte didn’t waste any time making its own judgment. The Hornets waived Dillingham immediately after the deal. That kind of quick exit says plenty about how little confidence two teams now have in his future.
For Minnesota, though, that same chain of events only sharpens how well Tim Connelly handled the deadline. The Wolves could have been the ones stuck trying to salvage Dillingham’s value or cutting bait altogether. Instead, they turned him into a young piece they actually wanted in their building, Ayo Dosunmu, while also moving Leonard Miller and multiple second-round picks.
That was a real admission of error. The original move to go after Dillingham was built on a sound idea - the Timberwolves didn’t have much financial flexibility, so the draft offered a way to land a possible long-term guard. They used future draft capital to get a player they believed could be their point guard of the future.
But the bet never paid off. By the deadline, Dillingham’s value had cratered, and Connelly accepted that sunk cost rather than doubling down on a mistake.
Plenty of front offices would have tried to talk themselves into waiting longer. Minnesota didn’t.
The pivot to Dosunmu has worked out beautifully.
Dosunmu was excellent for the Timberwolves down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs, and his 43-point outburst in Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets stands out as the headline moment. Minnesota then committed to him this offseason, handing him a new five-year, $112 million deal.
Now he’s at his first training camp in Minnesota, and the fit seems bigger than basketball. Dosunmu said he felt settled from the start.
"I felt at home. I think that was the most important part," Dosunmu said of his decision this summer to return to Minnesota.
"Anytime you go through free agency, you always have to envision yourself being here. Living here and, by the grace of God, maybe having kids here, growing up here, all that played a huge part into my decision."
He also pointed to Minnesota’s highly rated public school system as one of several reasons the Twin Cities made sense for him and his family, and why he wanted a long-term future there.
Dosunmu said Connelly played a major role in that comfort level, much like teammate DiVincenzo has. He described a front office leader who tells players the truth, not just what they want to hear.
"One thing Tim [Connelly] is very good, and I respect him about, he doesn't just always just tell you the good. Like he'll tell you the good, the bad, the ugly, the pretty. And as a competitor and as someone who wants to get better, that's someone that I want to be around."
For all the usual talk players give about liking their current city, Dosunmu’s words sounded different. The Midwest native, who had spent his life in Chicago or Champaign, Illinois, seems to have found a place he genuinely wants to stay.
"This is home. This is where I wanted to be at all along."
In Other News...
LaMelo Ball Faces The Timberwolves Pressure That Will Define This Move
LaMelo Balls arrival gives Minnesota a new layer of talent and intrigue, and it also brings a different kind of pressure than he faced in Charlotte. Over six seasons with the Hornets, Ball showed he can tilt an offense when he is rolling, but his move comes with the kind of scrutiny that follows a player expected to matter in bigger moments for a team with real postseason aspirations.
For the Timberwolves, the questions are less about flair than fit. Balls offensive gifts are obvious, but his durability has been a concern, and Minnesota needs to know he can stay available and hold up when the games turn more physical and the margins shrink. How he handles that challenge will go a long way toward defining whether this becomes a savvy addition or another frustrating what-if. [Read more 🡒]
Tim Connellys Wolves Vision Around Anthony Edwards Is Suddenly Clear
Minnesotas roster makeover has pushed the Wolves into a different phase, one built less around patching holes and more around lining up the next several seasons around Anthony Edwards. The group is now one of the youngest in the league, and the front office has clearly tilted toward a core that can grow together rather than one that simply tries to squeeze every last win out of the present.
Tim Connelly has been explicit about the logic behind the reset, framing the LaMelo Ball trade as a move that could address immediate needs while also stretching the teams competitive window. With almost everyone in the rotation cluster young enough to still be on the rise, Minnesotas plan is starting to look like a bet on continuity, development and a longer runway than the franchise has often had in the past. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Fans Are Stuck On The Rob Dillingham Drama Off The Court
Rob Dillinghams brief stop with Charlotte became a talking point almost as soon as it began, with the Hornets moving on from him on Sept. 28 after bringing him in via trade. The decision was framed around roster and financial flexibility rather than anything tied to his play, which only added to the sense that this was more about business than basketball.
Still, the conversation around Dillingham has not stayed on the court. Unverified social media screenshots involving him and influencer Tatiana Chanel have been circulating, even though the exchange was said to have happened months before the waiver and has not been independently confirmed. For a player whose name had already entered Minnesotas orbit through the larger Dillingham conversation, it leaves one more layer of noise hanging around a situation that was already messy. [Read more 🡒]