It’s been a rough go for Gradey Dick so far in his NBA career.
The 20-year-old has fallen out of the Toronto Raptors rotation and hasn’t gotten any playing time.
Per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg, Darko Rajakovic said that Dick is in the middle of a 2-week “special program.” This will have him work on his body with weights, conditioning and on court drills.
Rajakovic said that he wants Dick to focus on that and he will have another upcoming G League stint before hopefully getting back into the NBA rotation.
Even though Dick hasn’t played a whole ton for the Raptors this season Rajakovic is still high on him per Lewenberg:
“I think that’s very healthy for him (right now). He’s definitely going to be back with us and he’s going to be a rotation player. He’s the future of this organization but he needs to check a couple of (boxes) before we really unleash him on the floor.”
Dick was sent down to Raptors 905 following the Raptors win via Sports Illustrated’s Aaron Rose.
It is encouraging to know that Rajakovic still has plans of getting Dick back in the rotation and sees him as the future of the organization.
It’s been confusing not seeing Dick get any playing time during Toronto’s struggles.
Dick last played in garbage time in a win over the Washington Wizards on Dec. 27. He scored 3 points in 5 minutes.
For the season the rookie is averaging 3.5 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists on 29.4 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep.
Hopefully, Dick will have a good stint with 905 before being implemented back in the Raptors rotation.
It is important to give Dick reps and let him develop, especially in a down year for the Raptors.
Next up for Raptors
The Raptors will head to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies on Jan. 3. This will be the first of a six-game west coast trip for Toronto.
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