It has not been the ideal start for Gradey Dick’s rookie campaign with the Toronto Raptors.
Coming into the 2023 NBA Draft, Dick worked up the reputation of being a lights-out shooter out of Kansas. With Toronto lacking high percentage, 3-point shooters, it made a lot of sense to select him with the No. 13 pick.
While the Raptors are trying to compete and get into the playoffs again, it was going to be intriguing to see where Gradey fit in. But, it has not been pretty through his first 15 games in the NBA.
Dick is averaging 3.9 points, 1assist and 1.5 rebounds on 27 percent from the field and 24.4 percent from distance in 14.7 minutes. These shooting splits are far from ideal, illustrating that his game has not translated to the NBA level yet.
A decision was made to send Dick to the Raptors 905 to get his confidence back up but he struggled mightily in his G-League debut. Former Raptors player Sam Dekker believes that Dick’s jump shot changed, which may be the reason for his shooting struggles:
Who changed Gradey’s shot? I need answers. NBA gotta stop doing this to young shooters https://t.co/UO2sHjFBpH
— Sam Dekker (@dekker) November 25, 2023
There have been some prominent examples of rookie’s jump shots being changed, one of the most notable being Markelle Fultz during his time with the Philadelphia 76ers. Another one is Washington Wizards second-year guard Johnny Davis.
Now, Dekker is speculating that Dick’s jumper looks different and the change may be doing more harm than good. It is still early into his NBA career, so it simply may be because Gradey is struggling to adjust to the playstyle of the NBA.
The former Jayhawk is still with the 905 as the Raptors may be looking to see Dick stack positive performances and find a groove. Hopefully, that will come sooner rather than later.
Dick’s 905 Debut
The lottery pick made his G-League debut on Nov. 25 and as mentioned, it did not go well.
In 33 minutes, Dick scored two points on 1-for-12 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range. He has 3 turnovers and was a -13 when he was on the floor.
Gradey will likely remain with the 905 for the foreseeable future.
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