Jonathan Givony of ESPN says the Minnesota Timberwolves were the biggest winners from the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft due to their Rob Dillingham pick.
“Dillingham is lightning in a bottle, ranking not only as one of the best scorers in this draft class already as a freshman, but also as an underrated passer who brings real creativity passing off a live dribble, a skill that he can continue to hone as his pro career moves forward,” Givony explained.
Here is an excerpt:
Minnesota Timberwolves
The pick: Rob Dillingham (No. 8 via trade)
The Timberwolves made the most aggressive move of Round 1 by trading into the No. 8 spot to draft Dillingham. With starter Mike Conley turning 37 years old, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly knew he needed to be aggressive in finding the veteran point guard’s successor. With Dillingham, Connelly has his own version of Kyrie Irving, who knocked the Timberwolves out of the playoffs in the Western Conference finals.
Dillingham is lightning in a bottle, ranking not only as one of the best scorers in this draft class already as a freshman, but also as an underrated passer who brings real creativity passing off a live dribble, a skill that he can continue to hone as his pro career moves forward. The fact he showed he can play off the ball, making 44% of his 3-pointers this season, will help him operate alongside a budding superstar in Anthony Edwards.
His biggest weakness, his defense, could be negated to an extent with NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert behind him.
ESPN’s Kevin Pelton also praised Reed Sheppard as being one of the best picks of the night:
Pelton: Reed Sheppard to the Houston Rockets at No. 3.
The Rockets had a pretty good sense they would have a shot at Sheppard, but the important thing here was Houston passing on the temptation to trade this pick for a veteran. I love how Sheppard, my top-rated prospect, fits with the Rockets’ young core by adding badly needed shooting.
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