1 First Round + 1 Swap! The Timberwolves have made a lot of money, and the luxury tax for the new season has reached 84 million!

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2024-06-27 22:51

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01 The Timberwolves traded the 2031 unprotected first-round pick and the 2030 first-round pick for 19-year-old rookie Dillingham from the Spurs in the 2024 draft.

02 Dillingham is 1.85 meters tall, has an arm span of 1.90 meters, plays point guard, and averaged 15.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 23.3 minutes per game at the University of Kentucky last season.

03 Due to the arrival of Dillingham, the Timberwolves' luxury tax for next season has increased from 56 million to 84 million.

04 Timberwolves general manager Connally said that Dillingham will enter the team's rotation and try to keep this opportunity.

05 In addition, the Timberwolves also received contract extensions from No. 27 pick Terrence Shannon Jr. and Lee Kyle, and the luxury tax will probably exceed 100 million next season.

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The first round of the class of 2024 was officially born.

Every year in the draft, the league is bound to have some trades, and these transactions can sometimes even change the course of history, such as the two superstars of the Mavericks, Nowitzki and Doncic, who were traded on draft night.

Although there are no blockbuster trades this year, there are still a lot of small operations, such as the Spurs selected Dillingham with the eighth pick in the first round, and then sold it to the Timberwolves, and exchanged it for the Timberwolves' unprotected first-round pick in 2031 and a protected first-round swap in 2030.

For the Spurs, they not only have the No. 8 pick, but also the No. 4 pick, and selected the Connectivity championship guard Stephen Castle, and it is rumored that they are also interested in the Connectivity championship center Klingen, but Klingen was eventually cut by the Trail Blazers with the seventh pick - I don't know what the Trail Blazers are thinking, it is clear that the team already has Ayton and Lowe...

On the Spurs side, there are no more players they want, and this year is another draft year, so they simply sent the No. 8 pick to Dillingham and replaced it with a round and a swap, maybe they can earn it in the future.

Let's talk about the Timberwolves, don't look at this as a small deal, the Timberwolves can be said to have lost their money.

The Timberwolves have introduced the situation this year before, although the West will never lose to the Mavericks, but this team has seen the possibility of competing for the championship, and after continuing to contract Edwards, Conley, McDaniels, and Reed last season, the Timberwolves' lineup is very stable, and only Lee Kyle has become a free agent among the core players.

However, because new contracts from Edwards, McDaniels, Towns and others will all go into effect, the Timberwolves' future salary situation is very unfriendly, and the Timberwolves' luxury tax bill for next season has reached $56 million before any action is made.

It was in this context that the Timberwolves sent a valuable 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 first-round swap for a rookie with no NBA experience, and with the arrival of Dillingham (starting salary of $6.3 million), the Timberwolves' luxury tax for next season has increased from 56 million to 84 million, which can be described as a bloody investment.

So the question is, what kind of attraction does this rookie have?

Dillingham is 1.85 meters tall, has an arm span of 1.90 meters, is currently 19 years old, plays point guard, played at the University of Kentucky last season, played in a total of 32 games, including 31 off the bench, played an average of 23.3 minutes per game, scored 15.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists, and shot 47.5%/44.4%/79.6% from three.

The draft report evaluated his advantages including: excellent control, willing to pass, trust teammates, or an energetic scorer, with a wealth of offensive means, fast speed, although his height is not outstanding, but his independent offensive ability and finishing under the basket are very good, he is not afraid of confrontation, his shooting ability is excellent, and his three-point shooting rate is close to 50%;

The disadvantage evaluation of him is: he is not in good shape, he is only 1.88 meters tall in shoes, his arm span is not good, the defensive end is a natural disadvantage, the passing accuracy is not good enough, and there are many mistakes, he needs to improve his ability to read the game, he is better at holding the ball, rather than without the ball, and the left-handed offensive routine is too obvious.

The players that Draftnet gave him were Jennings and Kemba Walker, and his predictions before the draft were basically in the top 10 - in fact, it can be seen that this year's draft is really a small year.

To be honest, it is very risky to trade such a small year No. 8 show with a 2031 unprotected first-round swap and a 2030 protected first-round swap, after all, such an asset can already get a very good instant power in the trading market.

However, the reason why the Timberwolves did this must be because they are optimistic about Dillingham's immediate strength, and the fact is that Timberwolves general manager Connelly said after the trade was completed that Dillingham can enter the team's rotation from day one, he said: "He's going to play, I repeat, we were aggressive, gave up a very valuable asset to get him, he's a guy who gets a chance on day one, obviously, he has to work hard to keep that opportunity." ”

Considering the Timberwolves' roster, Dillingham should start off the bench, and if he can play at the level of the NCAA, he and Reed may be able to give the Timberwolves the strongest bench in the league, and with Conley by his side, Dillingham should be able to learn a lot.

The young man is also very good at talking, and immediately after being traded to the Timberwolves, he said: "They (the Timberwolves) only need one more person, I think they are really strong this year, they could have won the championship, and I am an extra boost for the team." ”

It is worth mentioning that the harvest of the Timberwolves' draft this year is not only Dillingham, but also the No. 27 pick Terrance Shannon Jr., coupled with the renewal of Lee Kyle, the Timberwolves' luxury tax next season is likely to exceed 100 million, and if the team is not dismantled next year, it will only be more in the future.

Previously, it was reported that the new owner of the Timberwolves wants to save money and avoid the luxury tax, but now it looks like this worry is a bit redundant, and it is a good thing that the owner is willing to spend money, but it is difficult to say whether he is willing to spend money all the time, and the Timberwolves need to deliver better results next season.

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