Raptors rookie Gradey Dick struggles mightily in 1st game with Raptors 905

Toronto Raptors rookie Gradey Dick was assigned to Raptors 905 ahead of Saturday's game against the Capital City Go-Go and his first taste of G League action went about as poorly as possible.

Dick finished with two points, two rebounds and one assist with three turnovers. He went 1-of-12 from the floor (0-of-6 from 3-point range) as the 905 fell to the Go-Go 115-101 to drop to 0-7 on the season.

It's unclear how long Dick's G League assignment will last, but he won't rejoin the big club for Sunday's road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Dick's NBA career is off to a rocky start after he was selected 13th overall in the 2023 draft. He's averaging 3.9 points per game on 27% shooting (24.4% from 3-point range) in just under 15 minutes a night. The poor 3-point percentage is especially notable given Dick's proficiency from long range in college. He converted at a 40% clip from beyond the arc in his lone season at Kansas.

Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković has not lost any faith in the 20-year-old despite his early struggles. The bench boss believes the adversity will only help in the long run.

“He's the future of the organization and he's a tremendous talent,” Rajaković said of Dick before Friday's victory over the Chicago Bulls, per Sports Illustrated's Aaron Rose. “But at the same time, he's a very young player who needs to go through this. There is no other way to learn than to be in the rotation, to be out of the rotation, to play in the G League, to find a way back, to find energy.

“He's done a really good job every single day. And he's showing up with great energy. He's working really hard. Today he was participating in our play group, did really well. So it's a constant message. Nothing is going to change overnight. But he's our future. We need to invest a lot in him and we're going to do that.”

Toronto is off to a middling start to the 2023-24 campaign with an 8-8 record.