Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham learning the NBA ropes from Mike Conley, John Wall

LAS VEGAS – One of the perks of the Timberwolves drafting Rob Dillingham is the chance for the 19-year-old Dillingham to play behind and learn from 36-year-old Mike Conley, the floor general whose veteran savvy was a key component of the Wolves’ run to the Western Conference finals.

But one of Dillingham’s first interactions with Conley wasn’t about the offense, or how to navigate the nuances of the Wolves’ system. He had questions about defense instead.

Shortly after the Wolves drafted Dillingham, he said he reached out to Conley to get some advice on how to guard, given their respective heights. Conley is 6-foot, while Dillingham is 6-1.

“He was just telling me to not let players play both ways and push them to a side,” Dillingham said. “Because playing two sides, players are too good now.”

A knock on Dillingham coming out of college was his defensive effort, and President Tim Connelly said after drafting Dillingham that the team was going to challenge him to improve. So far in summer league, Dillingham has had his moments of good defense. In the Wolves’ first game against the Pelicans, Dillingham forced a backcourt violation that summer league coach Chris Hines said changed the momentum in the game.

That will still be a work in progress as Dillingham learns the nuances of the NBA game. Head coach Chris Finch pulled Dillingham aside after the Wolves’ second game against the Pacers to offer some advice on late-game situations — how Dillingham committing an offensive foul gave Indiana an extra possession down the stretch — and to tell him to close out harder on a three-pointer the Pacers hit late. In summer league, Dillingham has been aggressive with his on-ball defense because he knows the Wolves will scramble and help behind him.

“Just more effort for real,” Dillingham said. “Really not that hard. Because I got teammates that play defense also. If I get beat, we always got someone scrambling, scrambling, so I feel like with this team, it’s easier to play defense and have me push up because it’s not always about staying with him the whole time, it’s more pushing them into our secondary defense.”

On Tuesday, despite 22 points and 13 rebounds from Leonard Miller and a 30-16 surge in the fourth quarter, the Wolves lost 92-90 to Philadelphia. Daishen Nix also scored 22 points for the Wolves.

There’s also been another longtime NBA point guard who has been offering some advice to Dillingham — John Wall. There are multiple connections for Dillingham and Wall, both from North Carolina.

“He’s a legend if you come from North Carolina,” Dillingham said.

Both went to Kentucky and played for John Calipari. Wall was in attendance to see Dillingham play the Pacers.

“That’s my guy,” Dillingham said. “He been knowing me, texting me and stuff. At Kentucky, he came to all our games. I just hit him after the [Pelicans] game. I was super mad because I didn’t play that well. I just hit him, and he was just telling me to play my game.”

That’s what the Wolves are trying to do as Dillingham get acclimated to his new surroundings. He’s got an apartment in Minnesota, but no furniture yet. He’s learning the offense, trying to find his shot while setting up others as the primary ballhandler, since that’s what he might end up doing on the second unit with the Wolves.

“Once he starts understanding how to read the floor, pick and roll, he’s going to be a beast in terms of having everybody involved,” Hines said.

This is a bit different than what Dillingham was doing at Kentucky, where he said he was more of an off guard. Conley is adept at playing both roles for the Wolves, and Dillingham will have opportunities to learn from him, how to run the offense and capitalize on the attention Anthony Edwards commands.

“I feel like here I have more of a role where I’m playing all around, doing everything,” Dillingham said. “I’m just growing into, not a star player, but an overall player who can do everything for his team.”