Rob Dillingham’s role with the Minnesota Timberwolves has been a major point of discussion so far this season. The second-year guard has struggled in his sporadic minutes this season. After Dillingham lost minutes to Bones Hyland (who thrived in this opportunity, scoring 14 points) on Monday, it’s not far-fetched to suggest that this could spell the end of his Timberwolves tenure.

That might sound harsh, and let me be clear, I still believe in Dillingham. Completely giving up on Dillingham as a player while he’s only in his second season and not legally able to drink alcohol is silly. The truth is, it’s really, really hard for a small guard to develop on a team with title aspirations — even if said team needs point guard play.

It’s a tricky situation. Do I think Dillingham could benefit from a more consistent role, and the Wolves haven’t done him any favors in that regard? Absolutely. At the same time, though, Dillingham hasn’t been impressive in his minutes. The Kentucky product is averaging 10.1 minutes, 3.7 points, 2 assists, and 1 rebound, on 34.8/28.6/69.2 shooting splits. Dillingham looks like he’s lost a lot of confidence, and the coaching staff doesn’t trust him.

At some point, winning must become the priority, and that time appears to be now for Minnesota. It’s also worth noting that Anthony Edwards had privately been lobbying for Bones to play more.

On Rob Dillingham not playing the other night:

Right now Rob Dillingham does not have the trust of the coaching staff

Anthony Edwards has been lobbying behind the scenes to get Bones Hyland into the rotation.

– Jon K

— The Daily Wolves (@TheDailyWolves) December 10, 2025Dillingham’s days with the Timberwolves are (likely) numbered

Yes, Chris Finch could have been more patient with Dillingham, and I don’t love how he tried to change his role. However, Hyland is more ready to contribute to a team with championship aspirations that will always be the priority. At this point, I don’t think it would be a shocker if Dillingham is moved ahead of the trade deadline.

Undoubtedly, trading Dillingham would be painful for the Wolves. Let us not forget that in 2024, the Wolves traded an unprotected first-round pick and a pick swap to draft Dillingham with the No. 8 overall pick. Given this, the front office might not want to give up on Dillingham. I think that’s perfectly understandable.

Still, would anyone be surprised if the Wolves traded for a point guard? Hyland looked great, but is he a permanent solution for the Wolves’ PG issues? If the Wolves trade for a role player such as Jose Alvarado, Dillingham is an obvious trade candidate, and if they trade for a star, he’d likely be thrown in to make the salaries work. Frankly, if the Timberwolves make a move at the deadline, Dillingham feels like an clear trade candidate.

For a rebuilding team, rolling the dice on Dillingham would make a lot of sense. He was a lottery pick a year and a half ago after all. There’s still a lot like with Dillingham’s game, even if he hasn’t shown it at the NBA level. In theory, he’s a speedy three-level scorer with incredible handles and solid passing chops.

At the end of the day, I’m still confident that Dillingham will become a solid NBA player; he just needs to find a team that can commit to his development. Unfortunately, that team is unlikely to be the Timberwolves.