The Rob Dillingham Thread

[FrenchMinnyFan]

I am probably as optimistic about RD's ability as a PG as anyone on this board. In addition, I am probably the least concerned about his defense. In summer league, none of the opposing teams perimeter players shot efficiently against the Wolves when RD was on the floor. I think RD showed more than expected in terms of his compete level on defense and his ability to stay in front of opposing guards (of which pretty much all of the guards the Wolves played were/are NBA rotation caliber guards).

Teams did try to exploit RD's slight frame and lack of length by backing him down into the post. Opposing teams guards were able to back him down into the post pretty much as they wanted. That being said, for me, I don't think that backing down RD into the paint and trying to get shots up over him with Rudy, KAT, and Jaden mucking up the paint around him is a recipe of offense that hurts the Wolves. Rob showed some ability with his hands to strip balls as the player went up for shots and that along with taking tough midrange shots is not a recipe for a high-efficiency offense.

That being said, I do think the Wolves have made a mistake by not adding another point guard to this roster that can be trusted. It's a bummer that Monte Morris went to the Suns and that the Wolves could not bring back McLaughlin. The Wolves are in trouble if Mike Conley misses any time. This may not matter in the regular season that much, but if Conley were to miss the playoffs teams would be able to muck up our offense pretty much by playing physical and guarding our initiators full court like we did to Denver. I don't think we want Rob playing this role heavily in crucial minutes and I don't think we want Ant doing that either. I don't think we have anyone on our roster other than these 2 that can even do it as well as they can either.

I agree with that. I consider id i' m realistic that RD need 2years before we know if he is able to be our starter PG. Which mean Mike has to stay healthy and efficient. I'm not worry for the regular season but what matter is PO time. I do not forget that this year we came short also because ANT, Mike ( and even Rudy for others reasons) were not at 100% during PO. Load management will be crucial this year. We use too much energy fighting for top spot last year, that we finally did not get. Staying in top 3-5 all season is enough considering how West is packed.

[Folklore]

I am probably as optimistic about RD's ability as a PG as anyone on this board. In addition, I am probably the least concerned about his defense. In summer league, none of the opposing teams perimeter players shot efficiently against the Wolves when RD was on the floor. I think RD showed more than expected in terms of his compete level on defense and his ability to stay in front of opposing guards (of which pretty much all of the guards the Wolves played were/are NBA rotation caliber guards).

Teams did try to exploit RD's slight frame and lack of length by backing him down into the post. Opposing teams guards were able to back him down into the post pretty much as they wanted. That being said, for me, I don't think that backing down RD into the paint and trying to get shots up over him with Rudy, KAT, and Jaden mucking up the paint around him is a recipe of offense that hurts the Wolves. Rob showed some ability with his hands to strip balls as the player went up for shots and that along with taking tough midrange shots is not a recipe for a high-efficiency offense.

That being said, I do think the Wolves have made a mistake by not adding another point guard to this roster that can be trusted. It's a bummer that Monte Morris went to the Suns and that the Wolves could not bring back McLaughlin. The Wolves are in trouble if Mike Conley misses any time. This may not matter in the regular season that much, but if Conley were to miss the playoffs teams would be able to muck up our offense pretty much by playing physical and guarding our initiators full court like we did to Denver. I don't think we want Rob playing this role heavily in crucial minutes and I don't think we want Ant doing that either. I don't think we have anyone on our roster other than these 2 that can even do it as well as they can either.

I agree with that. I consider id i' m realistic that RD need 2years before we know if he is able to be our starter PG. Which mean Mike has to stay healthy and efficient. I'm not worry for the regular season but what matter is PO time. I do not forget that this year we came short also because ANT, Mike ( and even Rudy for others reasons) were not at 100% during PO. Load management will be crucial this year. We use too much energy fighting for top spot last year, that we finally did not get. Staying in top 3-5 all season is enough considering how West is packed.

I meant to touch on this in my last post. When will RD ever play with the starters? When have ANY of our rookies ever played with the starters since Finch? Shouldnt we have played Josh and Miller more to see what we had especially with teh cap problem? Finch is Thibs...He focused more on staying number 1 than developing our potential.

Bringing in Monte Morris was a slap to JMac's face and to not resign Morris made it worse. It just showed that players outside of the 7th spot have no place here. RD will probably only play when Mike is injured and NAW is playing bad. I want to see RD play to see what we have early on but this team doesn't develop. He'll be sitting next to Minott looking dejected during blowouts until he realizes that he's just a cheerleader.

[Klomp]

I meant to touch on this in my last post. When will RD ever play with the starters? When have ANY of our rookies ever played with the starters since Finch? Shouldnt we have played Josh and Miller more to see what we had especially with teh cap problem? Finch is Thibs...He focused more on staying number 1 than developing our potential.

Bringing in Monte Morris was a slap to JMac's face and to not resign Morris made it worse. It just showed that players outside of the 7th spot have no place here. RD will probably only play when Mike is injured and NAW is playing bad. I want to see RD play to see what we have early on but this team doesn't develop. He'll be sitting next to Minott looking dejected during blowouts until he realizes that he's just a cheerleader.

When in our recent past has a rookie ever been drafted with the intent to put him in the rotation immediately? Because that's what Connelly and Finch have said. And the bench players are always rotated in with the starters, they don't go 10-deep in order to have a all-bench lineup. So by default, he will be playing with starters.

[BlacJacMac]

I am probably as optimistic about RD's ability as a PG as anyone on this board. In addition, I am probably the least concerned about his defense. In summer league, none of the opposing teams perimeter players shot efficiently against the Wolves when RD was on the floor. I think RD showed more than expected in terms of his compete level on defense and his ability to stay in front of opposing guards (of which pretty much all of the guards the Wolves played were/are NBA rotation caliber guards).

Teams did try to exploit RD's slight frame and lack of length by backing him down into the post. Opposing teams guards were able to back him down into the post pretty much as they wanted. That being said, for me, I don't think that backing down RD into the paint and trying to get shots up over him with Rudy, KAT, and Jaden mucking up the paint around him is a recipe of offense that hurts the Wolves. Rob showed some ability with his hands to strip balls as the player went up for shots and that along with taking tough midrange shots is not a recipe for a high-efficiency offense.

That being said, I do think the Wolves have made a mistake by not adding another point guard to this roster that can be trusted. It's a bummer that Monte Morris went to the Suns and that the Wolves could not bring back McLaughlin. The Wolves are in trouble if Mike Conley misses any time. This may not matter in the regular season that much, but if Conley were to miss the playoffs teams would be able to muck up our offense pretty much by playing physical and guarding our initiators full court like we did to Denver. I don't think we want Rob playing this role heavily in crucial minutes and I don't think we want Ant doing that either. I don't think we have anyone on our roster other than these 2 that can even do it as well as they can either.

I agree with that. I consider id i' m realistic that RD need 2years before we know if he is able to be our starter PG. Which mean Mike has to stay healthy and efficient. I'm not worry for the regular season but what matter is PO time. I do not forget that this year we came short also because ANT, Mike ( and even Rudy for others reasons) were not at 100% during PO. Load management will be crucial this year. We use too much energy fighting for top spot last year, that we finally did not get. Staying in top 3-5 all season is enough considering how West is packed.

I meant to touch on this in my last post. When will RD ever play with the starters? When have ANY of our rookies ever played with the starters since Finch? Shouldnt we have played Josh and Miller more to see what we had especially with teh cap problem? Finch is Thibs...He focused more on staying number 1 than developing our potential.

Bringing in Monte Morris was a slap to JMac's face and to not resign Morris made it worse. It just showed that players outside of the 7th spot have no place here. RD will probably only play when Mike is injured and NAW is playing bad. I want to see RD play to see what we have early on but this team doesn't develop. He'll be sitting next to Minott looking dejected during blowouts until he realizes that he's just a cheerleader.

Always good to use 2nd round picks as comps to lottery picks (that we traded up to get!)...

[Folklore]

I meant to touch on this in my last post. When will RD ever play with the starters? When have ANY of our rookies ever played with the starters since Finch? Shouldnt we have played Josh and Miller more to see what we had especially with teh cap problem? Finch is Thibs...He focused more on staying number 1 than developing our potential.

Bringing in Monte Morris was a slap to JMac's face and to not resign Morris made it worse. It just showed that players outside of the 7th spot have no place here. RD will probably only play when Mike is injured and NAW is playing bad. I want to see RD play to see what we have early on but this team doesn't develop. He'll be sitting next to Minott looking dejected during blowouts until he realizes that he's just a cheerleader.

When in our recent past has a rookie ever been drafted with the intent to put him in the rotation immediately? Because that's what Connelly and Finch have said. And the bench players are always rotated in with the starters, they don't go 10-deep in order to have a all-bench lineup. So by default, he will be playing with starters.

When the cap is screwed we don't have the luxury of thinking we're the Warriors and can just live off sprinkling in scrubs now and then. Every year we'll be losing players because we can't pay for them. We may even lose Naz and NAW because people can't think further than the current season.

When did we see anyone other than Garza play with the starters? And Garza only did that because of injuries. Maybe I remember Moore at the start of the season but he's no longer here. But a lineup of Mike/Ant/Josh/KAT/Rudy has never been seen.

[Klomp]

I meant to touch on this in my last post. When will RD ever play with the starters? When have ANY of our rookies ever played with the starters since Finch? Shouldnt we have played Josh and Miller more to see what we had especially with teh cap problem? Finch is Thibs...He focused more on staying number 1 than developing our potential.

Bringing in Monte Morris was a slap to JMac's face and to not resign Morris made it worse. It just showed that players outside of the 7th spot have no place here. RD will probably only play when Mike is injured and NAW is playing bad. I want to see RD play to see what we have early on but this team doesn't develop. He'll be sitting next to Minott looking dejected during blowouts until he realizes that he's just a cheerleader.

When in our recent past has a rookie ever been drafted with the intent to put him in the rotation immediately? Because that's what Connelly and Finch have said. And the bench players are always rotated in with the starters, they don't go 10-deep in order to have a all-bench lineup. So by default, he will be playing with starters.

When the cap is screwed we don't have the luxury of thinking we're the Warriors and can just live off sprinkling in scrubs now and then. Every year we'll be losing players because we can't pay for them. We may even lose Naz and NAW because people can't think further than the current season.

When did we see anyone other than Garza play with the starters? And Garza only did that because of injuries. Maybe I remember Moore at the start of the season but he's no longer here. But a lineup of Mike/Ant/Josh/KAT/Rudy has never been seen.

When did Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker become scrubs?!

[Folklore]

When in our recent past has a rookie ever been drafted with the intent to put him in the rotation immediately? Because that's what Connelly and Finch have said. And the bench players are always rotated in with the starters, they don't go 10-deep in order to have a all-bench lineup. So by default, he will be playing with starters.

When the cap is screwed we don't have the luxury of thinking we're the Warriors and can just live off sprinkling in scrubs now and then. Every year we'll be losing players because we can't pay for them. We may even lose Naz and NAW because people can't think further than the current season.

When did we see anyone other than Garza play with the starters? And Garza only did that because of injuries. Maybe I remember Moore at the start of the season but he's no longer here. But a lineup of Mike/Ant/Josh/KAT/Rudy has never been seen.

When did Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker become scrubs?!

I was saying that we can't afford to keep quality players like those two. And we aren't good enough to play scrubs to stay afloat. We don't do it anyway, we arent in position to not develop talent asap. If RD can't break into the starting lineup in a year he's a loss. This organization thinks that players needs 3 years to magically develop without seeing the floor.

[winforlose]

When the cap is screwed we don't have the luxury of thinking we're the Warriors and can just live off sprinkling in scrubs now and then. Every year we'll be losing players because we can't pay for them. We may even lose Naz and NAW because people can't think further than the current season.

When did we see anyone other than Garza play with the starters? And Garza only did that because of injuries. Maybe I remember Moore at the start of the season but he's no longer here. But a lineup of Mike/Ant/Josh/KAT/Rudy has never been seen.

When did Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker become scrubs?!

I was saying that we can't afford to keep quality players like those two. And we aren't good enough to play scrubs to stay afloat. We don't do it anyway, we arent in position to not develop talent asap. If RD can't break into the starting lineup in a year he's a loss. This organization thinks that players needs 3 years to magically develop without seeing the floor.

1. Some players need a year or two to get their **** together. RD does not need to be starter quality on a contender in his sophomore season.

2. I think if Rudy restructures and the cap raises 10% (both seem likely,) we can probably keep 1 of the 2. Probably NAW as Naz will be more expensive. There is also a possibility Naz signs with us to keep his bird rights and moves mid season in 25-26.

3. Minott and Miller are not necessarily scrubs. They might turn out to be, but we don’t know yet. If either one turns into a quality backup we are in decent shape heading into next year.

While I have issues with roster construction, I think 2-4 is totally set this year and as long as RD can play backup PG we are fine as long as neither Mike nor RD get hurt. If one does for any length of time we are in TROUBLE.

[Biff Cooper]

I meant to touch on this in my last post. When will RD ever play with the starters? When have ANY of our rookies ever played with the starters since Finch? Shouldnt we have played Josh and Miller more to see what we had especially with teh cap problem? Finch is Thibs...He focused more on staying number 1 than developing our potential.

Bringing in Monte Morris was a slap to JMac's face and to not resign Morris made it worse. It just showed that players outside of the 7th spot have no place here. RD will probably only play when Mike is injured and NAW is playing bad. I want to see RD play to see what we have early on but this team doesn't develop. He'll be sitting next to Minott looking dejected during blowouts until he realizes that he's just a cheerleader.

When in our recent past has a rookie ever been drafted with the intent to put him in the rotation immediately? Because that's what Connelly and Finch have said. And the bench players are always rotated in with the starters, they don't go 10-deep in order to have a all-bench lineup. So by default, he will be playing with starters.

Ant was not good at all the first half of his rookie year, but we kept putting him out there. In retrospect, they did a good job of letting him develop.

[winforlose]

I meant to touch on this in my last post. When will RD ever play with the starters? When have ANY of our rookies ever played with the starters since Finch? Shouldnt we have played Josh and Miller more to see what we had especially with teh cap problem? Finch is Thibs...He focused more on staying number 1 than developing our potential.

Bringing in Monte Morris was a slap to JMac's face and to not resign Morris made it worse. It just showed that players outside of the 7th spot have no place here. RD will probably only play when Mike is injured and NAW is playing bad. I want to see RD play to see what we have early on but this team doesn't develop. He'll be sitting next to Minott looking dejected during blowouts until he realizes that he's just a cheerleader.

When in our recent past has a rookie ever been drafted with the intent to put him in the rotation immediately? Because that's what Connelly and Finch have said. And the bench players are always rotated in with the starters, they don't go 10-deep in order to have a all-bench lineup. So by default, he will be playing with starters.

Ant was not good at all the first half of his rookie year, but we kept putting him out there. In retrospect, they did a good job of letting him develop.

True, but…

1. We were a bad team with very little to lose. That is when you play your young guys to develop.

2. We fired Ryan and hired Finch. A competent coach goes a long a way in helping a rookie find his grove.

[thinktank]

When in our recent past has a rookie ever been drafted with the intent to put him in the rotation immediately? Because that's what Connelly and Finch have said. And the bench players are always rotated in with the starters, they don't go 10-deep in order to have a all-bench lineup. So by default, he will be playing with starters.

Ant was not good at all the first half of his rookie year, but we kept putting him out there. In retrospect, they did a good job of letting him develop.

True, but…

1. We were a bad team with very little to lose. That is when you play your young guys to develop.

2. We fired Ryan and hired Finch. A competent coach goes a long a way in helping a rookie find his grove.

Winforlose,

Why don’t you just make a prediction for what you think Dilly will do next year and leave it at that?

You’re tiptoing around but not really saying anything concrete.

Show us your hand already. Give us your bottom line. Etc.

We need something concrete to evaluate your level of concern.

Otherwise you're taking a thread about a player and saturating it with your concern trolling about his role in just his rookie year.

[gandlogo]

Cason Wallace last year: 20.6 minutes/game, played in 82 games - 6.8 ppg 2.3 rpg 1.5 apg 0.9 spg

Wallace played for a fairly decent team with an MVP-level lead guard.

To me that would be Shifty's floor for this season - but I think he's more impactful than that.

[winforlose]

Ant was not good at all the first half of his rookie year, but we kept putting him out there. In retrospect, they did a good job of letting him develop.

True, but…

1. We were a bad team with very little to lose. That is when you play your young guys to develop.

2. We fired Ryan and hired Finch. A competent coach goes a long a way in helping a rookie find his grove.

Winforlose,

Why don’t you just make a prediction for what you think Dilly will do next year and leave it at that?

You’re tiptoing around but not really saying anything concrete.

Show us your hand already. Give us your bottom line. Etc.

We need something concrete to evaluate your level of concern.

Otherwise you're taking a thread about a player and saturating it with your concern trolling about his role in just his rookie year.

He will be the 8th man in the rotation unless he proves incapable in that role. Beyond that what would you like me to predict? I have no idea how his shot will translate. I have no idea how he will adapt to the defensive pressure of the NBA (important for turnover to assist ratio,) and I have no idea if he will be able to rebound at his size (that is a BBIQ and want to stat for undersized guards.) Some rookies are fine hitting the ground running, others are not. I predict he will improve as time goes on, I predict that if he is overused the rookie wall might be a concern. Beyond that I need specifics about what you want me to predict.

[thinktank]

True, but…

1. We were a bad team with very little to lose. That is when you play your young guys to develop.

2. We fired Ryan and hired Finch. A competent coach goes a long a way in helping a rookie find his grove.

Winforlose,

Why don’t you just make a prediction for what you think Dilly will do next year and leave it at that?

You’re tiptoing around but not really saying anything concrete.

Show us your hand already. Give us your bottom line. Etc.

We need something concrete to evaluate your level of concern.

Otherwise you're taking a thread about a player and saturating it with your concern trolling about his role in just his rookie year.

He will be the 8th man in the rotation unless he proves incapable in that role. Beyond that what would you like me to predict? I have no idea how his shot will translate. I have no idea how he will adapt to the defensive pressure of the NBA (important for turnover to assist ratio,) and I have no idea if he will be able to rebound at his size (that is a BBIQ and want to stat for undersized guards.) Some rookies are fine hitting the ground running, others are not. I predict he will improve as time goes on, I predict that if he is overused the rookie wall might be a concern. Beyond that I need specifics about what you want me to predict.

Provide per 36 box score, TS% and 3FG% projections. You’ve talked so much that you need to back up your unquantifiable words.

We know defense will be an issue. It is for all undersized guards.

People are going to come back to this thread so prepare to eat crow if Dilly is even an average #8 pick because you’re saying he’s not going to be.

[winforlose]

Winforlose,

Why don’t you just make a prediction for what you think Dilly will do next year and leave it at that?

You’re tiptoing around but not really saying anything concrete.

Show us your hand already. Give us your bottom line. Etc.

We need something concrete to evaluate your level of concern.

Otherwise you're taking a thread about a player and saturating it with your concern trolling about his role in just his rookie year.

He will be the 8th man in the rotation unless he proves incapable in that role. Beyond that what would you like me to predict? I have no idea how his shot will translate. I have no idea how he will adapt to the defensive pressure of the NBA (important for turnover to assist ratio,) and I have no idea if he will be able to rebound at his size (that is a BBIQ and want to stat for undersized guards.) Some rookies are fine hitting the ground running, others are not. I predict he will improve as time goes on, I predict that if he is overused the rookie wall might be a concern. Beyond that I need specifics about what you want me to predict.

Provide per 36 box score, TS% and 3FG% projections. You’ve talked so much that you need to back up your unquantifiable words.

We know defense will be an issue. It is for all undersized guards.

People are going to come back to this thread so prepare to eat crow if Dilly is even an average #8 pick because you’re saying he’s not going to be.

I have no idea how he will perform. If you go back and read what I wrote, I never said he will underperform or over perform, I simply said that not having a legit PG2 beside a rookie is a terrible idea, especially when PG1 is 37 years old. His shot might come right away or might take a while. His ability to execute offense might take a while as he adjusts to the NBA defenses. I didn’t watch him in college (I don’t watch college basketball,) and I cannot extrapolate that much from SL one way or the other because his role was different (starting PG and top 3 scorer on a team that had a week together.) As a Timberwolf his role will be in theory on ball guard and 3 point threat, but given his pull up game I would imagine they will press him and force him to give the ball up. That will mean more catch and shoot and off ball play for RD, which I haven’t seen him do.

I am prepared to eat crow if I need to on just about anything I say. But in this case I don’t see the issue. You are somehow overly invested in my concerns about a rookie PG being forced into a high pressure rotation role without a proper backup.

[Folklore]

I can't remember who said it but someone also had concerns about our backup PG position being too thin and I feel the same. NAW and RD are our backup PG's right now but what about next year once NAW is gone? Nix? But Nix wont get playing time. So we'll have a very raw RD being our starting PG? Then we're all going to be wishing we got D Murray when we had the chance. But Naz might be gone? This team is going backwards fast to the point that we're just going to be a play-in team. RD doesn't have time to not hit the floor running.

With Finch I see RD avg 5.1 minutes/game, playing in 42 games - 4.9 ppg 0.6 rpg 4.5 apg 0.1 spg

[frankenwolf]

That was probably me, Folklore. Our PG position is thin and almost non-existent if Minnesota Mike goes down for an extended period of time. That is W4L concern, not that Dilly will be a bad player, overall, but a rookie PG has a ton to learn and I know that Finch and crew will be working with Dilly and Mike will be mentoring. The concern is not how well will Dilly play throughout his career, but how well will he play THIS YEAR on a championship contender.

I understand that Finch is into "positionless" basketball - anyone can bring the ball up the court and initiate the offense, theoretically. However, as he stressed through out the post season, the Wolves need someone who can "reset" the offense as it goes through a rough patch. That is all I am looking for out of RD this year that is an unknown quantity. His shot will come in line and he will try on defense, but he is a rookie and those vets will hunt him down for a mismatch. That's ball. Will we win a championship if he has to start all our postseason games? Probably not, but I know he will get a bunch of playing time early in the year to get him acclimated to the league. The start to the season will not be pretty at times.

I am looking forward to see him playing with the big guys and maybe he will surprise us. GO WOLVES!!

[Slim Tubby]

Cason Wallace last year: 20.6 minutes/game, played in 82 games - 6.8 ppg 2.3 rpg 1.5 apg 0.9 spg

Wallace played for a fairly decent team with an MVP-level lead guard.

To me that would be Shifty's floor for this season - but I think he's more impactful than that.

I think this is a valid comparison worthy of discussion. They share a lot of dynamics when it comes to the teams they were drafted by.

I'll say this...if Finch trusts Dilly enough for him to average 20 minutes per game as a Rookie, I think that more than justifies the trade we made to select him.

Go Wolves!

Sent from my N152DL using RealGM mobile app

[thinktank]

Yeah, that’s basically where I’m going.

What do you want from him his rookie year?

Not much!

Play some average 2nd and 3rd PG minutes.

My guess is… he can do that.

[BlacJacMac]

I can't remember who said it but someone also had concerns about our backup PG position being too thin and I feel the same. NAW and RD are our backup PG's right now but what about next year once NAW is gone? Nix? But Nix wont get playing time. So we'll have a very raw RD being our starting PG? Then we're all going to be wishing we got D Murray when we had the chance. But Naz might be gone? This team is going backwards fast to the point that we're just going to be a play-in team. RD doesn't have time to not hit the floor running.

With Finch I see RD avg 5.1 minutes/game, playing in 42 games - 4.9 ppg 0.6 rpg 4.5 apg 0.1 spg

I still think its crazy to compare a guy we traded up to 8th to draft with 2 super raw 2nd round picks.

But if RD can put up 5 points and 4.5 assists in just 5 MPG, he's going to be a superstar...