Toronto has finally had a well-deserved break after a tough four-game losing streak, which included being knocked out of the NBA Cup quarterfinals by the now-finals-bound New York Knicks on December 9. And it was during that game that a young Raptors player received a lot of criticism for his poor performance. Despite only playing eight minutes, Gradey Dick had two careless turnovers, adding to the ongoing criticism of the Raptors during what was already a rough night for Jakob Poeltl.
I've seen Gradey Dick as a bit of an anomaly this season. He’s already raised a bunch of concerns for me since the second half of last season, when I believed this upcoming season would be his last real chance to prove he’s still a valuable building block for the Raptors’ future. Darko Rajakovic has consistently spoken highly of Dick and genuinely believes he can develop into more than just a shooter.
Just this month, I covered how he shared the "underlying truth" about Gradey Dick. While I agreed with some of what Rajakovic said — acknowledging that Dick is fundamentally a scorer — Toronto's head coach also stressed the importance of him becoming a reliable two-way player to ensure a lasting NBA career.
But on the other hand, I think this focus on Dick doing more than he might be ready for and simply trying to embody intangibles he doesn't possess is actually be hurting his development more than helping.
Dick's frantic play risks his growth over solid fundamentals
I get that in sports training, coaching, and development, sometimes pushing an athlete to improve in an area that isn't their strongest point can lead to a more well-rounded and polished player in the long run. I can recall hearing this idea being emphasized a few months ago at the Raptors' coaches open house, especially from assistant coach Pat Delany.
On the flip side, I remember assistant coach James Wade mentioning that it’s important for athletes to improve on what they already do well, add new skills that can help the team, and focus on reducing or limiting bad habits. When I think about Gradey Dick in that context, I can confidently say that Toronto might be enabling him to be eager to do too much, even though he’s not exactly the most agile, athletic, or skilled at handling the ball.
At his core, Dick should focus on becoming a more consistent set shooter and improving his efficiency in that area, rather than trying to dunk from crazy heights or showcase athletic moves that isn't exactly in his wheelhouse — even though you still have to respect him for trying.
Dick should really be the much-needed spacer in this clunky Raptors lineup, but his 31.5 percent shooting from deep suggests he isn’t even in a position to give Toronto a boost in that area. He’s still young, but now in year three, I don’t think there’s much of a grace period left — especially for the front office and fans — to see a guy drafted with a lot of praise for his shooting ability not even be able to deliver in that department at this stage of his NBA career.
Dick is a very boom-or-bust player, and that's not the outcome Toronto likely envisioned coming out of the 2023 NBA Draft. The window to salvage what’s left of Dick is closing, and Toronto will soon need to make an urgent decision — whether to stick it out with the Gradey Dick experiment or cut their losses and start shopping his name around in trade talks.