Players of the caliber Rob Dillingham’s caliber — top 10 selections in NBA Drafts — often go to rebuilding franchises who are at least a year and often more away from contention.

So imagine the 19-year-old guard’s surprise when he was selected — via trade — by a team playing in the Western Conference Finals just a month ago.

“It was just a crazy experience, for real, to even think about. The Timberwolves are one of the best teams in the NBA, so I wouldn’t think I would go to a contender right off (the) rip,” Dillingham said at the Timberwolves’ rookie introductory press conference Wednesday. “Me seeing I was going to the Timberwolves was just a blessing, and I was just happy that I got to learn from so many vets on the team and so many players that (have) done it. Talking to coach (Chris Finch), he just made me feel comfortable and he told me I’m going to have a role as long as I have responsibility and do what I’m supposed to do. I feel like it’s a two-way street. As long as I keep it the right way, then it’s going to go good.”

Wolves veterans have already reached out to Dillingham and fellow first-round pick Terrence Shannon Jr. Specifically, Dillingham noted his interaction with Mike Conley. That, he noted, was “a big thing” because that’s Minnesota’s floor general, a title Dillingham could own in the future.

“He’s a legendary point guard. He was just telling me it’s a great fit and a great spot for me to learn… Learning from him is a big thing for me,” Dillingham said. “Mike, Rudy, Jaden McDaniels, KAT, all of them just hit us just saying it’s going to be a good situation. As long as we’re willing to work, it’s going to happen.”

Dillingham, who averaged 15.2 points and 3.9 assists in his one season at Kentucky, will certainly have an opportunity to play a large role off the bench in the upcoming campaign — both Finch and Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly have said as much. Shannon, who was one of the top scorers in the country at 23.0 points per game in his fifth season at Illinois, may have opportunities to contribute, as well.

Those roles won’t be as large as some other first-round picks. It’s unlikely either will be in the rookie of the year race, as that honor often goes to a player with high usage who racks up volume stats in bulk. Even if Dillingham is an efficient scorer off the bench, as he was at Kentucky, his minute load figures to cap in the mid-20s.

That may be for the best, at least as far as Finch is concerned. He’s often been skeptical of the idea of rolling out the ball to let young guys make mistakes and learn in structure-less basketball.

“I think the best opportunity to develop young talent is to develop them into specific roles. Those roles are usually defined by teams that are ready to win and are winning. You know what you need and you can go in there and, first and foremost, try to excel in that role,” Finch said. “It’s great to have young players playing a lot of minutes, giving them a lot of opportunities. But, sometimes, they can maybe bite off a little more than they can chew. So I think in our situation, with the opportunities that we have, it’s certainly there for them. There’s roles to be had, roles to be earned. But we also know what they look like and how specific those are. That’s where we’re going to start. If you can nail that, we try to grow everyone’s game from there.”

The rookies, at least for the time being, seem to have bought into the philosophy. Dillingham reiterated how good Minnesota was a season ago and noted he and Shannon will do “whatever we can do to make them better.”

“It’s going to be the little things. That’s what we’re going to do,” he said. “We’re not focused on everything that’s around us. We’re just going to make the best of what we got and whatever coach wants us to do, we’re going to make sure it happens. If it don’t, we’re not going to be on the floor.”

But if they do, they could be part of a special season in their rookie campaign.

“I expect on winning a championship. That’s what we came here to do,” Shannon said. “They fell a little short this year, but there’s always next year, and that’s what we plan on doing.”

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