Raptors rookie guard Gradey Dick, the 13th overall pick in the 2023 draft, began his first season in the league bouncing in and out of the lineup. However, he’s been firmly entrenched in the lineup since Jan. 20 and is averaging 11.2 points while shooting 39.3% from beyond the arc since then. Sportsnet.ca’s Michael Grange details how Dick underwent a mid-year turnaround and became one of the bright points in an otherwise poor Raptors season.
The rookie sharpshooter started the year struggling, shooting just 24.4% from three in his first 14 games and going through G League assignments. Grange details how a mid-January meeting with head coach Darko Rajakovic led to a plan to save Dick’s rookie season — a plan that included more intense, hands-on trainings. Since then, he’s looked like what the Raptors thought they were getting when they selected him in last year’s draft out of Kansas.
“I told somebody just the other day: He’s progressed the most as a rookie — easily — on the court, as anyone I’ve seen,” teammate Garrett Temple said. “His game play, his ability to accept coaching and put it into play, the defensive things that he’s able to do now versus what he was able to do to begin his season. On court, he’s been even more impressive than just off-court in my opinion because he progressed so much and you know, I’m really proud of him for that. He’s gonna be a player in this league, no question. He’ll be fine in this league for a long time.”
We have more from the Raptors:
- Immanuel Quickley is set to be the Raptors’ point guard of the future after arriving in the OG Anunoby trade alongside RJ Barrett, and he’s due for a major pay raise as he approaches restricted free agency this summer, Grange writes. He’s averaging 18.7 points and 6.8 assists since arriving in Toronto, and there’s little doubt he’s going to be the team’s long-term starter there assuming he re-signs this offseason.
- While there’s no wondering who the starter will be at point guard, there are more questions regarding who the Raptors will turn to for the backup position moving forward. In the same piece, Grange points to Javon Freeman-Liberty as one potential option to monitor. “[Freeman-Liberty] is showing really good signs of willingness to be exposed, to be vulnerable, to learn, to fail and to grow through the process,” Rajakovic said. “I think it’s just the question a lot, a lot of repetition. He is going to have amazing summer, amazing opportunity ahead of him, another summer league opportunities. So it’s gonna be good opportunity for him to make that next jump.“
- After being ruled out for the season with a hand injury, it sounds as though Scottie Barnes is progressing well. According to Grange (Twitter link), Barnes is progressing to reconditioning and has gone through some controlled scrimmages. According to Grange, Barnes should be 100% available by the summer.
- Jontay Porter remains away from the Raptors as he deals with an NBA investigation regarding betting irregularities surrounding his games. Temple, a vocal veteran voice for the team, says he plans to reach out to Porter in the coming days during an appearance on The Raptors Show (Twitter link). “In the days ahead I’ll probably send a text ‘just checking on you, seeing how you’re doing,‘” Temple said. “No reply is needed in those scenarios… just a situation to let guys know we didn’t forget about you.“