The Toronto Raptors have stocked up on shooting guards over the last few years, all of whom have disappointed to one degree or another. Chief of Disappointers has been Gradey Dick, the third-year guard out of Kansas whose flashes of brilliance have been eclipsed by mediocre play.
To make things worse, Keyonte George is breaking out and making the Raptors wish they hadn't passed on him in the first place. Looking back on the 2023 NBA Draft, Toronto's regret grows with every highlight moment for George and every disappointing performance from Dick.
Raptors regret drafting Gradey Dick
It would be somewhat harsh to say that Gradey Dick has been a draft bust. There were players taken around him in the 2023 NBA Draft who barely look like NBA players already, such as Jordan Hawkins and Kobe Bufkins. The Raptors could have done worse.
It's without question that they could have done better, however. Gradey Dick entered the league as a sharpshooting wing out of Kansas who flashed some on-ball shot creation skills; he was always going to be a defensive liability, but if he could be a lights-out shooter he could be the next Luke Kennard.
Instead, Dick has lost his shot entirely since entering the league. After shooting 36.5 percent from deep as a rookie, he hit just 35 percent of his deep shots in 2024-25 and is down to a positively frigid 31.7 percent from 3-point range this season.
Dick plays hard, he has been relatively healthy (played in a league-leading 49 games this season) and seems like a good culture guy. But armed with a lottery pick in 2023, the Raptors could have come away with a much better player.
Someone like Keyonte George.
The Raptors could have drafted Keyonte George
While Gradey Dick has gone downhill in his third season, the player taken three slots later has exploded into stardom. The Utah Jazz may be trying to tank another year away, but the play of Keyonte George has made that more difficult than they expected.
George is scoring 24.1 points per game and dishing 6.6 assists, hitting 37.8 percent of his 3-pointers despite creating a good number of those shots himself. His vision and shot-making look to be on track for an All-Star type season down the road, and the Jazz have to feel like they have a foundational piece of their next great team in place.
What if the Raptors had taken George instead of Gradey Dick back in 2023? His development may not have been in time to prevent the massive new contract for Immanuel Quickley, but now he would be stepping into that role and looking like a building block alongside Scottie Barnes for the future.
That would make it easier to trade Immanuel Quickley or RJ Barrett, and it would also give them 48 minutes of strong point guard play. George and Jamal Shead would also complement one another well, both in a rotation or side-by-side in the backcourt.
The Utah Jazz drafted a future All-Star point guard. The Toronto Raptors drafted a bench shooter who cannot shoot. The canyon there is wide, and it is being filled up with a river of regret.
The Raptors made the wrong choice, and the right one could be changing their future -- instead, the player they chose is depressing the present.