Toronto Raptors Player Preview: Gradey Dick is more than ready for his sophomore season

It’s year two for Gradey. He’s past the adjustment to the NBA, past the rookie responsibilities, and past any anxiety he had in his first season. He’s ready to get back on the court, following the momentum of a strong end to his first year. Toronto Raptors fans are ready for him too, having been endeared to the fanbase by his personality and skill, going back to his draft night. Media Day has already provided some fun content from him as well.

In his rookie campaign, Gradey averaged 8.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. At the start of the season, he was a bench option that was struggling to find his shot and rhythm. In November, he appeared in 11 games, shooting 22.2% from the floor, averaging 3.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists despite averaging 21 minutes per game.

One stint in the G-League and a “special program” from the coaching staff later, Gradey found his way back with the Raptors squad. The trades and injuries happened, finally providing him some run, and Gradey was firing on all cylinders, averaging almost 12-2-2 in March, and 14 and 4 in April. He had a 24-point career-high against Brooklyn in one of their final games of the season, an 8-rebound game shortly before, and a 7-assist career-high for him against Denver in March. Despite the rocky start, Gradey had his legs under him and was coming into his own.

In Summer League, we got glimpses of his capabilities and growth since the end of the season. His touch and strength around the rim already looked better, finishing with 18-10-6 in the first game against Oklahoma City. Despite sustaining an injury to his ankle in their second game, there was enough to get Raptors fans excited.

He’s been in the gym over the summer, and we’ve seen footage of him on the court too, now that his injury has healed. According to him during the Raptors’ Media Day, he’s gained 13 pounds since his last NBA outing in April. The extra muscle should help him on drives and cuts, and hopefully defensively as well. Yet another thing that points to what will shape up to be a promising sophomore season.

What to Expect

It’s safe to say that most of us suspect Gradey will join the starting lineup this year alongside Barnes, Poeltl, Quickley, and Barrett. The promotion will probably come with an uptick in minutes and a larger role in the offence as well.

In the starting lineup, it’s not unrealistic to expect Gradey to have lots of scoring opportunities. Already at his age, he’s shown the ability to shoot consistently from the corner. He knows it’s one of his strengths too. Last year in an interview he told me that he knows it’s one of the highest efficiency shots in the game and when they’re falling that’s one of the ways he can help his team. With the combination of RJ’s threat as a cutter, Scottie and Jakob’s paint presence, and IQ’s shooting threat, Gradey should find lots of room to get shots off.

Last season he proved he’s not just a shooter though, and the way that Toronto is designing its offence allows for players to come out of a niche, prioritizing movement on and off the ball, and promoting cutting to create space and opportunities for everyone.

Gradey has proven he can shoot, cut, and pass the ball with a high degree of effectiveness, so his role will reflect that as well.

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Meeting Expectations

After the strong end to the season, and an offseason of growth, expecting him to get 12-3-3 a night feels reasonable. He’s going to see an uptick in minutes, giving him the opportunity to see an increase in his stats across the board. Hitting threes and spacing the floor will probably be his first objective, but he’ll find lots of ways to cut to the rim and score there too. I don’t see him prioritizing rebounds, especially when he’s sharing the floor with Poeltl and Barnes, so despite his stature, he’ll probably find himself out and running the floor more often than scrapping for a board.

I’d look for him to be shooting 44% from the floor (up 1.5% from last season) and 37% from distance (up 0.5% from last season).

It’s only fair to give him some off games, taking a bit of time to get back into the swing of things too, so sounding the alarm bells in early November would be just foolish.

Exceeding Expectations

Of course, where would we be without considering the possibility that Gradey has a big jump this year as well? 15-3-5 would be even more than we could hope for, but not entirely out of the realm of possibility. Toronto will of course see most of their scoring come from “BBQ”, but I wouldn’t underestimate the role Gradey will have if he is hitting his shots. 15 of his last 22 appearances were double-digit performances, 3 of which were 20-point games. 45% from the floor with 38% long range shooting would be remarkable as well, but again, would be a massive jump.

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