Toronto isn't working with a ton of financial leverage this offseason, given the hefty price tag attached to their starting core. Teetering near the luxury tax isn't ideal for many NBA teams, unless, of course, the team is either championship-ready/proven or a worthy contender with the right pieces in place.
While Toronto showed they could get back to playoff team status this past season, they're still arguably a few key moves away from being considered in elite Eastern Conference territory and a true Finals threat.
It's not an impossible dream by any means, but the Raptors will likely need to navigate their current assets, whether players or the appealing draft capital they hold in abundance, and go from there. This summer, especially in light of Bobby Webster's recent extension, provides the perfect backdrop for the Raptors to seize opportunities to improve while also avoiding the luxury tax.
The latest NBA intel from HoopsHype's Michael Scotto outlines a specific Raptors player who could be leveraged as a trade piece this summer to achieve financial relief.
Gradey Dick stands out as the Raptors' most likely trade candidate to "duck the tax"
Scotto writes: "Should the Raptors look to give themselves more cushion below the luxury tax, opposing executives point to former lottery pick Gradey Dick as a potential trade candidate. The 6-foot-7 swingman is owed $7.13 million next season and is coming off the worst season of his career, where he had a decreased role and averaged 6.0 points on 41.9 percent shooting from the field and 30.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc in 14.0 minutes per game."
Just the other day, I wrote about a somewhat tongue-in-cheek storyline involving Gradey Dick and the Raptors' official social media pages. Dick had been the subject of a days-long trend of highlight reel posts showcasing the 22-year-old swingman at his best this past season.
The irony was that Dick wasn’t exactly established as a key piece to the Raptors’ success, as he largely found himself in rotation purgatory, and many fans certainly referred to that in the comments. Dick had shown glimpses of potential the year prior, but it was in the Raptors' latter 2025-26 schedule (and especially in the playoffs) where names like Ja'Kobe Walter, Jamison Battle, and even AJ Lawson started to get more recognition, overshadowing the once-promising lottery pick.
This summer was already being viewed as a critical "what to do" period for Gradey Dick’s future. With such a rapid jump from a rebuilding team to determined playoff riser, many don’t see the Raptors having much patience or time to continue Dick's development. Their best move might just be to trade him and hope his next NBA home can still unlock the potential that remains in the former Kansas product.
Likewise, as Scotto’s report suggests, with a $7.13 million price tag on his contract, offloading that money could give Toronto more leverage to work out a Mamu extension or sign more proven players in free agency.
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