Chris Finch addresses rookie Rob Dillingham's role with Wolves this season

"The intention is to give him every opportunity," Finch said of Minnesota's top draft pick.

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Rob Dillingham arrives before the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

One of the more intriguing things to watch with the Wolves' second unit early this season will be how much run the team gives to rookie Rob Dillingham, the No. 8 overall pick in this year's draft. Will he be the backup point guard right away? How many minutes will he play? The Wolves hope Dillingham is a big part of their future, but there's a tricky balance they have to find this year when it comes to prioritizing a 19-year-old's development on a team with legitimate NBA championship aspirations.

In the second part of a recent interview series with MinnPost's Britt Robson, head coach Chris Finch talked about his view of a "reasonable expectation" for Dillingham's role and production during his rookie season.

"I mean, what is reasonable is that he plays well one out of three nights," Finch said. "And then you just hope that one of those other two nights you don’t notice him and of course he is going to have that not-so-good third night."

That's a fair and honest assessment from a coach. Robson's follow-up question, understandably, was about how much the Wolves can live with those other two nights when they're likely going to be fighting for a top seed in the Western Conference all season.

"I think you go into the season feeding him his opportunities — you have to," Finch said. "And you have to be willing to live with some growing pains. But the stakes are kind of high. You know maybe, one of the things we are looking at ... is there a way to expand our rotation to a consistent 10 (players) and then in the beginning of the season he is getting, like, 8 minutes? Rather than trying to give him 16 to 18 (minutes), where the failure rate is bound to be higher."

"Is that the best way to bring him about, rather than having these massive ups and downs?" Finch continued. "And that is something we are going to debate heavily in our coaches meeting before training camp. And obviously see how it plays out. But yeah, the intention is to give him every opportunity. We love his confidence, we love his game, it gives us things we don’t have. Obviously we know he is a part of our future so we have to be committed to it."

Dillingham, in theory, brings some things to the Wolves that they don't have. If he plays well, he'll provide pace, shooting, and playmaking to the bench unit (Finch said he hopes the rookie can establish chemistry with Naz Reid since they'll probably be sharing the court a lot). That's why Tim Connelly traded into the first round to add Dillingham to a roster that needs more secondary offense.

The concerns are with his growing pains on offense and his lack of size on defense, although Finch said he liked Dillingham's "physicality and his competitive spirit on the ball" during Summer League this year. The Wolves also have enough perimeter defenders — Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, etc. — to make up for some of Dillingham's shortcomings on that end.

It's going to be fascinating to see how the rookie adjusts to the NBA and how much he's able to provide this season.