As a 2023 first-round pick, Gradey Dick is currently eligible for an extension. His prospects, like those of many of his draft classmates, aren’t great at the moment.
“The following players have borderline zero chance to definitely zero chance from the 30-person first round of 2023 at signing an extension: Jarace Walker, Taylor Hendricks, Jett Howard, Gradey Dick, Jordan Hawkins, who was traded today, Kobe Bufkin, Jalen Hood-Schifino,…, Cam Whitmore—waived again this week—Noah Clowney, Dariq Whitehead, Kris Murray, O-Max Prosper, Marcus Sasser, Ben Sheppard, Nick Smith Jr., Julian Strawther, Kobe Brown,” Zach Lowe said on the September 8 episode of the Zach Lowe Show.
Dick certainly won’t get an extension with the Raptors. He fell out of the rotation last season, and they are actively trying to trade him to the LA Clippers as part of the deal that should bring Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto soon. Once that trade goes through, Dick’s prospects of signing an extension don’t improve.
The Clippers’ guard and wing rotation is crowded, and his future in LA is anything but guaranteed until he proves that he can be a valuable contributor, as the organization tries to recover from the fallout of the salary-cap circumvention scandal that cost them five first-round picks.
At least the Raptors aren’t alone in their 2023 draft disappointment
For the Raptors, this is another reminder of their draft failure. Using a lottery pick on Dick really didn’t age well. But this list also emphasizes that the draft overall was just weak outside of the top prospects.
Drafting Victor Wembanyama was obviously a home run for the San Antonio Spurs. Moreover, Brandon Miller will be an important piece for the Charlotte Hornets going forward, and Amen and Ausar Thompson have played well for the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons, respectively.
Other than that, Cason Wallace turned out to be a great get for the Oklahoma City Thunder at number ten. Dereck Lively II has shown promise, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Brandin Podziemski provided value to their teams, and Anthony Black and Bilal Coulibaly have contributed to the Magic and Wizards.
So, the Raptors aren’t the only team that didn’t get the value it was hoping for out of its first-round pick that year. The vision for Dick was that he would be a 3-point specialist after he shot 40.3% in his lone college season. In the NBA, he never shot over 36.5% for a season, and Ja’Kobe Walter, the Raptors’ first-round pick a year later, eventually outpaced him as a 3-point shooter while also offering better defense.
Walter’s emergence as a reliable contributor and the absolute home run that drafting Collin Murray-Boyles was softened the blow of missing out on a lottery pick in 2023.
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