This Raptors team has dug deep to keep themselves relevant in the Eastern Conference and the overall NBA landscape, fighting their way to a very respectable 25-17 record at the time of writing. It certainly hasn't been easy; the team often finds itself in tight, razor-thin battles on more or less a nightly basis, so much so that the broadcast team has even christened this squad as almost a “Cardiac Kids” variant.
But even in the midst of their success, there are still a ton of question marks surrounding this team, especially as it pertains to their roster structure. As fun as the team is when healthy, it doesn't appear that this is exactly the final version of what this Raptors squad will look like for the foreseeable future. You don't need me to tell you about the myriad of trade rumors and storylines surrounding Raptors players who could be on the chopping block in search of stronger replacements. One of the guys whose name is constantly up for discussion is third-year player Gradey Dick.
Will Gradey Dick survive to be part of the Raptors' long-term vision?
With all due respect to Dick, who I can tell tries to grind his way through whenever he suits up, he’s struggled to find or maintain a consistent flow or a role that contributes to the team’s success. Dick has a hard time shooting the three-ball (29.7 percent at the time of writing), and his defense is quite suspect. Moreover, as commendable as it is for Dick to hustle for boards and be an energetic presence, I believe he simply lacks the athletic prowess to turn those plays into something truly helpful.
So, I've been keeping a very close eye on Dick's performances lately, since he's one of the few Raptors players still young enough to warrant the title of a trade asset with potential — even if he hasn't been doing exactly that for Toronto. After reviewing the evidence, I came to a pretty fair conclusion that Dick’s borrowed time on this Raptors team is running extremely thin. And while I still believe that to some extent, I have to give kudos to Gradey Dick for his standout performance in the Raptors' last game — a 115-101 victory over the Pacers.
On January 14, Dick secured his first career double-double, playing over 30 minutes off the bench — his longest stint of the 2025-26 season so far. He tied his season-high with 21 points, which he first achieved in the season opener against Atlanta, shooting 9-for-15 from the field. He also set a new career-high with 11 rebounds and added three assists.
Dick becomes the third Raptors reserve player to achieve a double-double this season, joining his fellow bench mates Sandro Mamukelashvili and Collin Murray-Boyles. Raptors fans might recall Dick’s ability to explode in his skillset; many probably haven't forgotten that incredible opening season run during the 2024-25 campaign, when the ex-Kansas product looked like a strong MIP candidate. However, for a long time now, there hasn't been much to get excited about with Dick, and that has largely caused him to become an afterthought — which is certainly an unfortunate turn of events for a guy who was taken in the lottery.
There is still a ton of pressure on Dick's shoulders, and this highlight moment of the 2025-26 campaign won’t be the lone saving grace to his middling Raptors career. He needs to prove he's a valuable team asset over a larger sample size, especially as we draw closer to the inevitable February 5 trade deadline.