Timberwolves' Micah Nori opens up about the Rob Dillingham situation

Things haven't gone to plan for Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham since he was taken with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft. He spent most of his rookie season outside of Minnesota's rotation, and that's where he currently finds himself midway through his second year.

It's an interesting situation because while Dillingham has shown some occasional flashes, he's mostly struggled to produce in the NBA. His career shooting percentage is 40 and his assist-to-turnover ratio is about 1.8 to 1. He hasn't shown enough in his limited minutes to earn a larger role, but the other side of the coin is that he also hasn't played enough to really develop.

On Wednesday, in an interview with KFAN's Dan Barreiro, Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori opened up about where things stand with Dillingham right now and the difficult context that he's found himself in since he was drafted. Here's his entire (rather long) answer.

"No. 1, Rob's still very, very young, as we know," Nori said. "Being around this for as long as I have and talking with people, a lot of times point guard's very difficult to play in the NBA, especially at a young age and especially a guy (who did) one year in college. Most people say that it takes three years, minimum, in the NBA to get a good feel of playing the point guard position.

"And I think the one thing that's been difficult for Rob is that Rob has been a scorer from the time he was eight, nine years old. And that is fine. What we're trying to help him do and what he's trying to do is become more of a point guard, which is break the paint, penetrate, and then pass it out and that type of thing. One thing that has been an adjustment for him is that in the NBA, you've got taller, longer, more athletic guys at every position. As a smaller guard, calling it what it is, it takes them a little bit longer to find their niche, to be able to navigate all the length and the height in the paint and get to his spots.

"And then defensively, I will give him credit for sure, he has competed at a high level. It is a matchup league. Everybody basically looks down and says 'OK, what guy do we want to attack defensively?' And because of Rob's stature, sometimes they will go at him. All that has been a learning curve.

Rob Dillingham | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"So for him, as he's trying to take all that information and then do it on the fly at the highest level with a team that has championship aspirations, that's where it's difficult. If Rob was the eighth pick in Washington or the eighth pick in Charlotte, and no offense to those teams, but if you could just run him out there every single night and really not care about the outcome or the result, you'd have a different story, as opposed to a team that has been to the Western Conference Finals twice and trying to take that next step.

"He's got a tough job trying to do that, and he's under that microscope. You put him in for games and people are like 'Wow, he doesn't get that much run here or there,' but that's because we are literally trying to win every single game. It's very difficult to win and develop (young players).

"I'm a Rob Dillingham fan. I think by no means is he on the outs, it's just a matter of we're trying to win games, Bones (Hyland) has been playing very, very well, and you're gonna have growing pains. But again, (he's) a kid that's played one year in college and is trying to play point guard in the best league in the world. He's had to change his game a little bit, and that's difficult."

All of that from Nori makes sense and feels like it sums up the situation accurately. The issue that if Dillingham is trying to change his game and adjust to being a smaller point guard in the NBA, it's hard to do that without actually playing and having a longer leash to make mistakes and learn and grow. And he just isn't getting that opportunity in Minnesota. It wouldn't help with adjusting to the NBA level of competition, but it does seem fair to question why Dillingham hasn't gotten an extended opportunity to go play for Iowa in the G League and build back some confidence there.

Ultimately, it's tough to see his role with the Wolves changing anytime soon, given Hyland's emergence and the lack of trust Chris Finch seems to have in Dillingham. He's only 21 years old, but it's already looking like Tim Connelly and the Timberwolves whiffed when they traded up to acquire him.

What Dillingham might need to turn his NBA career around is to be traded to a non-contending team where he'd have more of an opportunity to play freely and develop. As the Wolves look for possible additions to their backcourt prior to the deadline, Dillingham feels like a player who could end up going in the package they send out. If he remains on Minnesota's roster, his chance to earn a bigger role will likely continue to wait.

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