Last season was a career year for Gradey Dick. He became a full-time starter and averaged career highs all across the board. This season is quickly shaping up to be the exact opposite. The addition of Brandon Ingram relegated Dick back to the bench and his role shrank steadily throughout the season until he found himself completely out of the rotation.
The timing couldn’t be worse. Dick is extension-eligible this offseason and now has to face an uncertain future with the Raptors. After all, his lack of playing time doesn’t inspire much confidence that he is still a part of the Raptors’ long-term plans.
Gradey Dick collected two consecutive DNPs
Dick hasn’t played twenty minutes since late January, which was, perhaps, a sign of what was to come. He last played six minutes in a loss to the Thunder and recorded 2 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal before receiving a DNP-Coach’s Decision against the Spurs and the Wizards. The latter is one of the worst teams in the league. Dick got on the court against the Knicks, but only for one minute.
The only other player who didn’t see any minutes in those two games was 39-year-old Garrett Temple.
Before the game against the Spurs, head coach Darko Rajakovic said that he and the organization believed in Dick and viewed his development in his new role as a long-term process. However, considering that the Raptors want to win and don’t trust him to contribute to winning basketball, it’s unlikely that their patience will last much longer.
Gradey Dick has struggled to do what he does best
Dick was an excellent 3-point shooter in college, sinking 40.3% of his 5.7 attempts per game. He never fulfilled his promise as a 3-point specialist at the NBA level. He was solid in his first two seasons, but nothing above average.
This season, Dick’s shooting has taken another hit. He only averages 30.8% shooting on 2.7 shots per game, marking a steep drop off in both volume and accuracy. Of course, some of the drop in volume can be attributed to the drop in minutes. It’s not easy to lose over ten minutes per game and still get up the same number of shots.
Still, his struggles from three pose one all-important question: when Dick isn’t making shots, what does he bring to the table that the Raptors desperately need? Rajakovic’s decision to cut him from the rotation suggests that he thinks the answer to that question is nothing. At least for now.