The cool thing about the new Target Center theater lighting is that it provides just enough illumination for you to see that the Timberwolves have a point guard quandary.
For the first time in Minnesota, Tim Connelly, the Wolves’ basketball magician, got the rabbit stuck in his hat.
Connelly traded for Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham during the 2024 draft, a move no one outside of Connelly’s inner circle could have imagined. Dillingham would be Mike Conley’s successor and a speedy playmaker to complement a large, sometimes ponderous lineup.
On Sunday night, the Timberwolves played their home opener against Indiana. Donte DiVincenzo, who is not a point guard, started at point guard. Conley came off the bench. Dillingham missed the game because of a nasal fracture he suffered on Friday against the Lakers in Los Angeles, after not playing in Wednesday’s season opener at Portland.
Dillingham and this season are both extremely young, but this would be an important swing and miss for Connelly if Dillingham can’t play a meaningful role on a team with championship aspirations.
Connelly did not need to trade assets during the 2024 draft. He did so only because of a strong belief that Dillingham would make a difference.
Connelly’s unpopular deal for Rudy Gobert helped the Wolves reach the Western Conference finals the past two years. The public was wrong about that deal. It was a major victory for Connelly and the Wolves.
Connelly’s next surprise, sending Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks for DiVincenzo and Julius Randle, looked questionable for much of last season, but Connelly was always going to trade Towns at some point. He chose to cut him loose in exchange for two valuable players and a first-round draft pick.