Pascal Siakam, Gradey Dick showing chemistry in Raptors’ summer runs

The Toronto Raptors are once again trying to blend their collection of hungry veteran players with multiple young players attempting to find their way in the pros. This will lead to All-NBA forward Pascal Siakam and 2023 rookie first-round pick Gradey Dick sharing the floor for heavy minutes.

These two parties need to find some way to develop some sort of rapport. With Dick likely to be on the receiving end of multiple kick-out passes after Pascal drives to the rim, these two need to make sure they are on the same wavelength on the court.

The Rico Hines runs, which featured almost the entire Raptors roster at various points despite the fact Hines left the team following Nick Nurse’s firing, are the perfect place for these two to start working on their relationship. Based on how they performed, the regular season will be the start of a beautiful partnership between the two.

Thanks to highlights shown off by Esfandiar Baraheni of SDPN Sports, Siakam and Dick looked to be in sync. At a run that featured Raptors bench players like Jeff Dowtin and the exceedingly bold Markquis Nowell, it was Siakam and Dick who helped steal the show on the offensive side of things.

https://twitter.com/JustEsBaraheni/status/1693409964306407935

Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam, Gradey Dick thriving at Rico Hines runs.

Siakam has survived the offseason onslaught of trade rumors, further cementing him as a player Toronto is going to build around this season. With an All-Star and All-NBA nod in the last two seasons, Siakam is at the peak of his powers despite several factors working against him.

The lack of spacing hurt Siakam last season, as he often found the paint quite crowded. New head coach Darko Rajakovic has some of the players needed to throw away Nick Nurse’s scheme and play a bit more up-tempo in 2023-24 and beyond.

Even though Toronto could have used a point guard like Kobe Bufkin or Summer League star Keyonte George, they selected Dick because Masai Ujiri believed that his elite shooting would be a significant band-aid to one of this team’s biggest weaknesses. Getting comfortable with Siakam will be imperative.

https://twitter.com/theshift_sports/status/1693652068936864254

While it is nice to see players like Dowtin and Nowell holding their own against other talented players in the NBA, fans had to be thrilled at the fact that Dick is looking bigger and more confident. Siakam is in a groove, which could lead to a very fast start in the 2023-24 campaign.