Gradey Dick is willing to do whatever the Toronto Raptors need of him.
Dick saw big minutes for a rookie last season as the Raptors were decimated by injuries through March and April. Entering his sophomore NBA campaign, Dick doesn’t intend to lobby head coach Darko Rajakovic or anyone else for a starting role — he wants to earn his spot.
“I’m going to try my best to be in the position that the team needs,” said Dick before Raptors training camp began. “It’s not me pushing my agenda. It’s really the role that I need to fill and if that calls for the starting position, then I’m going to put my all into that.
“Really, the main goal this whole season is just to win. Winning solves a lot. We play good or bad, if you win, a lot of stuff gets forgotten.”
Toronto selected Dick 13th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft after one year with the Kansas Jayhawks. The swingman slotted in behind Gary Trent Jr. in the Raptors depth chart at shooting guard to start the 2023-24 season.
Rajakovic used Dick sparingly through October, November, and December. He also spent stretches with Raptors 905, Toronto’s G-League team, as he got used to the rigours of the NBA schedule.
The Raptors didn’t re-sign Trent when his contract expired in the off-season, opening the door to Dick being a starter. Dick said there’s a lot less stress now that he’s gone through one season as a professional basketball player.
“It’s a different feeling having a season under your belt, not having to worry about going to different places when we first got to camp, and being late and just all that kind of stress of being a rookie,” he said.
Dick’s season was split in two by a conditioning stint in late December and early January where he added some muscle and improved his cardio. The 20-year-old continued that fitness program through the off-season.
“I always want to push and get better,” said Dick. “It was just being consistent, not only on the court, but in the weight room, nutrition, all that stuff that really just allows me to be where I want to be and be where I want to be when I hit this season.”
Rajakovic noted at Raptors training camp in Montreal last week that Dick had packed 15 pounds on his six-foot-seven frame in the off-season. The coach, also entering his second year, said he expects Dick to defend multiple positions and be more physical.
“Last year when he walked in he could barely dunk the ball and now he’s playing above the rim a little bit easier, he’s not shying away from contact offensively and defensively,” Rajakovic told reporters on Thursday. “I think it’s going to help his overall game, feeling more confident in his body that he’s capable of doing things.”
Dick’s minutes played grew sharply in the spring as all-star forward Scottie Barnes (broken finger) and starting centre Jakob Poeltl (torn ligament in finger) suffered season-ending injures. Fellow swingman RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., also missed time in March to mourn the death of his younger brother and point guard Immanuel Quickley took time off after the passing of his uncle.
Ultimately, Dick averaged 8.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.1 over 21.1 minutes per game last season. Those numbers were buoyed by his performance from March 1 onward, when he averaged 30.9 minutes per game, 12.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists over 22 games in that span.
Entering the 2024-25 season it looked like Dick may have to split time with 2024 first-round draft pick Ja’Kobe Walter, veteran Bruce Brown, or even Barrett if he slid over from small forward to play the two-guard.
All three of them, however, are injured.
Walter missed training camp with a sprained right shoulder, Brown underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee before training camp began, and Barrett left Sunday’s 125-98 pre-season victory over the Washington Wizards in the second quarter with a bruised shoulder.
“The biggest advice (veteran Garrett) Temple told me was that in a season of 82 games, preparation is key,” said Dick before training camp began. “You never know what’s going to happen, especially with our season, we had a lot of stuff happen during (last) season.”
The Raptors visit Washington, D.C., for their second pre-season game on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2024.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press