WOJ: Spurs draft Rob Dillingham 8th, then trade him to the TWolves for an unprotected 2031 first

[Chinook]

7 years away. Who gives a rat's ass. How about getting him more help now.

Because they aren't ready. Next year would've been Ideal.

This doesn't make sense. We're talking about a 19 year old. How are the Spurs not ready to give playing time to a 19 year old? How is it ideal that the Spurs add an 18 year old to play with 20 year old Wemby instead of a 19 year old?

You're acting like they signed a 30 year old vet instead of drafting a 19 year old who won't be any good next year, but can develop with Wemby.

I think the Dillingham trade was unwise. I've already said that and still believe it.

However, the idea being expressed is for the Spurs to collect additional assets this year to make a more direct win-now trade next year. Dillingham in this context isn't seen as help now or help next year. Actual help would come in the form of an All-Star, but it's still a year too early to pull the trigger on a trade for one. Next summer, they'll hopefully get more luck in the draft with their pick or Atlanta's and draft a real impact player there and then use MIN31 as part of a package for a real All-Star to pair with him. Like the Spurs might be running Fox, Castle, Flagg, Sochan, Wembanyama as their starting five in 2025-2026. That lineup or some rough equivalent might be worth sacrificing Dilingham and/or any other player who was on the board at that time.

Do I like that line of reasoning? No. I think most scenarios would've been improved by having another good young prospect on the team. But if the issue wasn't value but instead just direction, then there is wiggle room there.

[Sixers in 4]

The Wolves are not loaded with young talent besides Edwards, give me a break. Calling this is the worst trade ever is laughable. And if you've been watching ball for 50 years like you claim then you should be actutely aware of how quickly a team can rise and fall to irrelevance. There is zero guarantee the Wolves will be relevant in 2031 as of today

It's not the worst ever just a bad trade.

There is nothing wrong with the thought process either the return is just really awful. They should have gotten at least another first rounder and possible a pick swap.

The fact that the pick is seven years from now is not a huge asset yes it could be better because this Wolve team is obviously very good but it could also be in the 20's and you will have waited seven years and given a lotto pick for nothing. Why take that risk? You have the pick now select the BPA rather than take a trash offer.

When the Spurs use that pick to eventually trade for an impact player I'll be sure to remind you all how Rob Dillingham is doing jack squat in Minnesota

The Spurs clearly didn't value anyone available at 8 and didnt want the salary. Not sure why that's so hard for some to understand. They got an unprotected 1st and a swap out of a guy who will probably amount to nothing at the NBA level. It's not some god awful trade like some people are trying to make it seem like. And if the Wolves are ass in 2031 and Spurs end up with a lotto pick in Wemby's prime people will be calling Wright a genius. Point is it's too early to be proclaiming that it's a bad trade

Given the entirety of the Wolves franchise history I think I'll take the gamble that they're not going to be an elite team still in 7 years. it's like everyone forgets they were garbage just 3 years ago and now we suddenly expect them to contend for the next decade because they had a good season finally

NBA fans are so fickle, I swear

Once again the odds are not in your favor of the pick being anywhere close to what to gave up. You have around 27 percent straight odds of that pick spot being 8th or better and that is 7 years from now.

I am not saying don't do the deal but get something a lot more back. Mainly another first round pick. If they made their mind there was absolutely no talent left and then took the best crap offer well we will see. This wasn't a great draft by most scouts accounts but almost every draft there are people picked after 8th who are allstars. From Mitchell and BAM in in the 2017 draft. To Shai and Bridges in the 2018 draft. 2020 had Haliburton and Maxey. 2021 draft had Sengun and Wagner. And on and on.

Really the only recent draft I can remember is the 2019 draft where there just wasn't anyone after 8 who I would consider to be a top end impactful player but it doesn't take that kind of player to get two first round picks back take a look at what the Wizards got for Avdija. Who was selected 9th in the 2020 draft. Two first rounders and two second rounders. Anyways we will know well before 7 years if the trade was any good we will see if anyone 8th or worse hits. If they do it will be a really bad look for the spurs

[art_tatum]

The spurs could've drafted anyone at 8. So fair or unfair in a few years if a star player emerges from past the 7th pick, spurs will look bad.

Imo it's a bad deal. Should've just gambled on a teen player that might be able to pair up with Wemby. Why play the 2031 timeline.

[Blame Rasho]

Ppl don’t get my Otis Thorpe reference… god I am old.

I've heard of Otis Thorpe. IIRC he was a good player, but I didn't get your point.

He was involved in a trade to Vancouver in 1997, and it involved a draft pick. The draft pick was nothing to think about at the time. It eventually became the 2nd pick of the 2003 draft. The Pistons did screw up with that pick, and could have gotten a handful of allstars instead of Darko.

In this instance, a pick was given up instead of a player for a far distant pick which might likely be a far better pick in the future. Let me be clear, it is all but certain that at least one player picked 8 or later will be a good player, but given the uncertainty of how this draft was projected to be, the spurs thought they should pass. No one seems to acknowledge this as well, but their recent picks have umm sucked. Branham, Westley, and Primo are all busts.

A trade can be a win win for both teams. Dillingham seems be a good kid, I wish him the best and I think overall he is in a better place for him to actually grow with the wolves rather than the Spurs.

[blackcosmos]

In 1997, the grizzles trade away their 2003 1st round draft pick for Otis Thorpe. That pick turn out to be 2md pick overall.

To say the spurs fumbled this trade is an overreaction.

[GusT15]

In 1997, the grizzles trade away their 2003 1st round draft pick for Otis Thorpe. That pick turn out to be 2md pick overall.

To say the spurs fumbled this trade is an overreaction.

And because both the Pistons and the entire League didn't think it was fair for a traded draft pick 6 years in the past to become the #2 pick in a stacked draft class-the Pistons drafted Darko Milicic...

[Sixers in 4]

In 1997, the grizzles trade away their 2003 1st round draft pick for Otis Thorpe. That pick turn out to be 2md pick overall.

To say the spurs fumbled this trade is an overreaction.

They clearly fumbled it. Was it the worst ever? No. But it was an awful trade that has very little chance of working out

[KGdaBom]

Ppl don’t get my Otis Thorpe reference… god I am old.

I've heard of Otis Thorpe. IIRC he was a good player, but I didn't get your point.

He was involved in a trade to Vancouver in 1997, and it involved a draft pick. The draft pick was nothing to think about at the time. It eventually became the 2nd pick of the 2003 draft. The Pistons did screw up with that pick, and could have gotten a handful of allstars instead of Darko.

In this instance, a pick was given up instead of a player for a far distant pick which might likely be a far better pick in the future. Let me be clear, it is all but certain that at least one player picked 8 or later will be a good player, but given the uncertainty of how this draft was projected to be, the spurs thought they should pass. No one seems to acknowledge this as well, but their recent picks have umm sucked. Branham, Westley, and Primo are all busts.

A trade can be a win win for both teams. Dillingham seems be a good kid, I wish him the best and I think overall he is in a better place for him to actually grow with the wolves rather than the Spurs.

First of all Kudos on your screen name. My Wolves blamed Rasho for many things. This was an example of trading a current player for a first round pick 6 years in the future and in this case it beat the odds and turned out to be the #2 overall pick in the draft. They blew that #2 overall pick on Darko. You can't make it up.

I only saw Dillingham play one game in SL and I picked a great one to watch where he went off for 25 on excellent shooting and 12 assists. I actually posted before that game that he was waiting for me to watch before showing what he could really do. His handle and court awareness are off the charts good.

A lot of people thought the Wolves were getting a Malik Monk type player. Dilly is much closer to being Trae Young and yes that would include poor defense. Hopefully a little better defense than Young, but maybe not. Dilly gives the Wolves the facilitating and scoring punch we desperately need. My Wolves have so many excellent defenders that we can absorb some bad D. Players that get past Dilly will have Rudy waiting for them.

[Pointgod]

I don’t understand why so many people are down on Dillingham. It seems like he had a solid summer league despite it being summer league. Seems like a no brainer risk for the Wolves. Even if he’s nothing more than a starting calibre PG for the next 8 years you’re in a good position.

I think the Spurs got a little too cute by half with this move. Sure a pick 7 years away might turn into something good but you have something good in Dillingham. A player who’s defensive problems could be covered up by a generational defensive player and would be an awesome backcourt mate with Castle. That also ignores the other players the Spurs could have picked that got drafted after 8.

[Wingy]

We... We just did. We shored up our two most glaring needs at PG and SF with quality vets. It just didn't include RD. Having two extra rookies to develop was less preferrable than one more ready one (Castle) who still won't start, thus putting less pressure on him, and we can still use these plus any other picks to continue to build up the roster. Again, these picks can be kicked down the line, or used soon, or any time in between.

I've made my last comment on this. I see not no value in a swap 6 years from now and a pick 7 years from now, but barely any value. You can get all hot and bothered over them. If you try to trade them you will find out that other teams just don't care. If you throw them in they'll take them, but that's about it.

What about in 4 years when they're trying to trade for a superstar teammate for Prime Wemby and that pick is only 2 summers away and Minnesota's bigs are old?

…and has anyone talked about the fact that as soon as you draft a player, the value of that pick you just had plummets?

Other teams may not like the guy. You may not have time to develop them. They may disappoint. The clock on their rookie contract starts ticking.

Picks are evergreen with hope for fanbases league wide. Drafted rookies have some or all of the above warts.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

can't the Spurs just trade this pick for a star down the road. i think thats the case with acquirind this pick for a team willing to trade their star player so they can pair said star with Wemby.

[Scalabrine]

I don’t understand why so many people are down on Dillingham. It seems like he had a solid summer league despite it being summer league. Seems like a no brainer risk for the Wolves. Even if he’s nothing more than a starting calibre PG for the next 8 years you’re in a good position.

I think the Spurs got a little too cute by half with this move. Sure a pick 7 years away might turn into something good but you have something good in Dillingham. A player who’s defensive problems could be covered up by a generational defensive player and would be an awesome backcourt mate with Castle. That also ignores the other players the Spurs could have picked that got drafted after 8.

What if he's worse than a starting point guard for the next 8 years?

[TheWitcher]

In 1997, the grizzles trade away their 2003 1st round draft pick for Otis Thorpe. That pick turn out to be 2md pick overall.

To say the spurs fumbled this trade is an overreaction.

And because both the Pistons and the entire League didn't think it was fair for a traded draft pick 6 years in the past to become the #2 pick in a stacked draft class-the Pistons drafted Darko Milicic...

What a crazy timeline. Melo on those Pistons teams would have been such a force.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Eh, it's not that big a deal, they will most likely end up with 2 lottery picks in the 2025 draft. There's a chance Dillingham is good, but he'd most likely be drafted outside the lottery if he were in next year's draft.

[Klomp]

Ppl don’t get my Otis Thorpe reference… god I am old.

I've heard of Otis Thorpe. IIRC he was a good player, but I didn't get your point.

He was involved in a trade to Vancouver in 1997, and it involved a draft pick. The draft pick was nothing to think about at the time. It eventually became the 2nd pick of the 2003 draft. The Pistons did screw up with that pick, and could have gotten a handful of allstars instead of Darko.

In this instance, a pick was given up instead of a player for a far distant pick which might likely be a far better pick in the future. Let me be clear, it is all but certain that at least one player picked 8 or later will be a good player, but given the uncertainty of how this draft was projected to be, the spurs thought they should pass. No one seems to acknowledge this as well, but their recent picks have umm sucked. Branham, Westley, and Primo are all busts.

A trade can be a win win for both teams. Dillingham seems be a good kid, I wish him the best and I think overall he is in a better place for him to actually grow with the wolves rather than the Spurs.

To counter....

In 2005, Minnesota traded Sam Cassell and a protected first-round draft pick for former second round picks Marko Jaric and Lionel Chalmers. This draft pick was viewed in Clipper land as gold, especially as Minnesota was about to string together 12 consecutive losing seasons. It was heralded as a key trade asset to help the Clippers acquire Chris Paul from the Hornets, especially as Minnesota had four straight seasons under 25 wins at the time and the pick would eventually turn unprotected.

However, Minnesota finished with only the 10th-worst record in the NBA (thanks only to losing 13 of 14 to close the season), and that prized asset for New Orleans resulted in the great Austin Rivers.

[Klomp]

I don’t understand why so many people are down on Dillingham. It seems like he had a solid summer league despite it being summer league. Seems like a no brainer risk for the Wolves. Even if he’s nothing more than a starting calibre PG for the next 8 years you’re in a good position.

I think the Spurs got a little too cute by half with this move. Sure a pick 7 years away might turn into something good but you have something good in Dillingham. A player who’s defensive problems could be covered up by a generational defensive player and would be an awesome backcourt mate with Castle. That also ignores the other players the Spurs could have picked that got drafted after 8.

What if he's worse than a starting point guard for the next 8 years?

Two of Minnesota's biggest needs longterm at the moment are...

1. Franchise point guard
2. Scoring punch/self-creation off the bench

Dillingham filling the first would be incredible. However, even if he doesn't reach that height, there is a strong chance he can fill the second. That is still an enormous win for the franchise to add that kind of player on an asset-strapped team.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

I don’t understand why so many people are down on Dillingham. It seems like he had a solid summer league despite it being summer league. Seems like a no brainer risk for the Wolves. Even if he’s nothing more than a starting calibre PG for the next 8 years you’re in a good position.

I think the Spurs got a little too cute by half with this move. Sure a pick 7 years away might turn into something good but you have something good in Dillingham. A player who’s defensive problems could be covered up by a generational defensive player and would be an awesome backcourt mate with Castle. That also ignores the other players the Spurs could have picked that got drafted after 8.

What if he's worse than a starting point guard for the next 8 years?

Two of Minnesota's biggest needs longterm at the moment are...

1. Franchise point guard
2. Scoring punch/self-creation off the bench

Dillingham filling the first would be incredible. However, even if he doesn't reach that height, there is a strong chance he can fill the second. That is still an enormous win for the franchise to add that kind of player on an asset-strapped team.

He's going to need to hit the weight room immediately, one of the most slightly built players I've seen in a long time. He reminds me of Brandon Jennings though, even the way he shoots and his legs turn sideways on pullups.

[pipfan]

The spurs could've drafted anyone at 8. So fair or unfair in a few years if a star player emerges from past the 7th pick, spurs will look bad.

Imo it's a bad deal. Should've just gambled on a teen player that might be able to pair up with Wemby. Why play the 2031 timeline.

I think it's fair to judge this trade for SA based on the guys from 8-12 or so. I thought they should have taken Matas, but my Bulls are happy they didn't

[Klomp]

In 1997, the grizzles trade away their 2003 1st round draft pick for Otis Thorpe. That pick turn out to be 2md pick overall.

To say the spurs fumbled this trade is an overreaction.

I think one key difference between the two trades is that the Pistons were trading away a 34-year old to an expansion franchise entering its third year of existence. The Grizzlies were trying to fast-track something by trading for a grizzled vet. The Pistons were taking a chance that an expansion team would remain bad for the entirety of its first decade. I like the Pistons' odds.

I understand the Spurs taking a chance that the Timberwolves will Timberwolve. But when there is already a 22-year old superstar on the roster and you are giving him a potential 19-year old sidekick, that's a risky proposition.

Most likely though, they will use this pick like the Clippers used the Cassell/Jaric pick - as a trade asset. They are banking on the likelihood that over the next 5 years, players will be lining up to team up with Wembanyama. It's not a bad call, honestly. But in terms of the trade value specific to this deal: I'm not sure they maximized the pick.

[dakomish23]

I love it for MIN. They desperately needed another shot creator / scorer in the backcourt. I wouldn't be surprised if he's ROY as the 6th man avg 15 PPG for MIN

He just might have a shot at ROY.

There's def gonna be a lot of huge games from him this season and his style of play is so highlight friendly, I think he's going to get a lot of buzz.