Rob Dillingham looked like a terrific pick at No. 8 overall by the San Antonio Spurs, giving the team another young guard to pair with Victor Wembanyama moving forward.

When it was announced that Dillingham would actually be moving to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the trade brought a fair amount of shock and questions surrounding what exactly the asset-strapped Wolves had to give up, especially for a team projected to be above the second luxury tax apron.

When the dust settled, Minnesota had not only agreed to give up its only tradeable future first-round pick (an unprotected 2031 selection) but also gave the Spurs the right to swap first-rounders in 2030 (top-one protected). According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, a first-year salary of $6.3 million for Dillingham also meant paying an additional $28 million in luxury taxes next season.

This means that Dillingham will cost the Wolves $34.3 million next season, or roughly what players like Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Donovan Mitchell and Tyrese Maxey will earn.

Ignoring the financial ramifications for a minute, this was a smart team-building move for a Wolves team that wasn’t going to be able to add significant talent through free agency and only entered the draft with the Nos. 27 and 37 overall picks.

Getting a player as talented as Dillingham to come in and learn behind an outstanding veteran like Mike Conley Jr. is an ideal situation. It would be fair to question Dillingham’s fit on some rosters given his moderate size and defensive limitations, weaknesses that should now be negated playing on the No. 1 defensive team in the NBA last season.

Yes, the Wolves remain extremely limited on future moves they can make due to the amount of draft equity still owed from the Rudy Gobert and now Dillingham trades, but this is a championship-caliber roster that just got better in the short and long term.

The risk was high and the cost was steep, but this was a brilliant move by president of basketball operations Tim Connelly and his staff to keep this roster competing for titles even after Conley retires.

Buy or Sell: Buy. Dillingham will become a big part of the team’s future.