How much will Raptors rookie Gradey Dick play next season?

Amit Mann and Eric Koreen discuss Gradey Dick's role next season and his path to minutes in his first NBA season. Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel or listen on the 'Raptors Over Everything' podcast.

Video Transcript

AMIT MANN: Gradey Dick, how much time do you think he-- like, the thinking with him, and I believe Bobby had said this after the draft, is, like, they are thinking there could be an instant impact with him just because of, obviously, his shooting. But is he going to be-- is he ready to be a rotation player off the bat based off what you've seen? And there's going to be progress here. And the fact is that when he's playing with better players, he's going to look a lot better too at the same time.

ERIC KOREEN: Yes. for sure.

AMIT MANN: Yeah.

ERIC KOREEN: So I did my rotation piece, like, sort of trying to map out the Raptors rotation piece earlier this week. And I had him not in the opening day rotation. And people were very mad about that, understandably, because--

AMIT MANN: People have been mad for, like, a year. But yeah, go on.

ERIC KOREEN: Understandably, because after a year like the last one, you want some-- other than a coach, you want to see some new people out there. You want to see some of exactly what has been missing from this team. And, like, the best version of Gradey Dick is a big part of that. It's just hard for me to, like, look at the nine or 10 players, and that's, like, without even thinking about Otto Porter, Jr. without thinking about Thad Young, and saying he will definitely separate himself there.

Now, based on what we sort of know the front office thought about the younger players on this roster and the opportunity they were or were not given, they might be on the same page. So if that means Gradey Dick is playing and Chris Boucher and Jalen McDaniels are not, maybe that's something they are very clear on from day one where that wouldn't have been the case last year.

And that's like, OK, Darko Rajakovic knows that, like, OK, maybe this isn't the optimal lineup for winning tonight's game, but if Scottie Barnes is going to grow and develop as a playmaker, you sort of need as much shooting as you can put around him. And maybe that means Gradey Dick, even though he's being targeted defensively, that's fine, because he gives Scottie Barnes a bit more of a lane to work with.

But just from, like, a who's who on this roster, what have they done, and also how much Gradey Dick is going to be targeted defensively, I had him on the outside looking in. Maybe he goes down to the 905 to start and gets used to the role that-- like, a bit of a heightened role of what he would play with the Raptors. And you got Markquis Nowell playing down there with him. You've got Javon Liberty Freeman-- I can never remember--

AMIT MANN: Freeman Liberty, but yeah. Freeman Liberty.

ERIC KOREEN: Thank you. I've screwed that up twice now.

AMIT MANN: You would think it's actually the other way around. Naturally, it would be--

ERIC KOREEN: I have to remember that it's alphabetical. That's all there is to it. Javon Freeman Liberty taking those, like, main ball handling duties and Gradey Dick getting used to, like, working off ball to looks. Maybe that's how it starts, and then a trade happens, and there's a more natural lane for him.

That was sort of my thinking in keeping him out of the rotation for now. If he went, like, the whole season without being in the rotation, first of all, the Raptors will have been hugely healthy. And second of all, I would be very surprised. I don't really see that happening. But if he doesn't start the season even getting, like, 12 minutes a game, I wouldn't be horribly surprised, I guess was the point I was trying to make.

AMIT MANN: I mean, no different--

ERIC KOREEN: But yeah, I could also see a world, like I said, in which they're like, this guy's playing 12 to 15 minutes a night regardless. Everything else aside, Scottie Barnes, and Pascal Siakam, and OG's minutes are, like, not as important as making sure he gets those minutes. And maybe that's just what's happening.

AMIT MANN: I think it's a fair point. Like, we're looking at two different perspectives on it is, are you trying to win every single game? Or is there a little bit of a developmental aspect that you're trying to incorporate into your philosophy by game one? Like, obviously, Gradey Dick, like no other player, it would be beneficial for him to spend some time in the G League.

Like, we saw him succeed in areas in Summer League. But also, there are areas that he can improve on. And that's a great place to go and do that, right? So then mid-season point, maybe some trades happen. Gradey Dick comes back in and he has a better rhythm and flow for the Raptors. Like, that makes sense to me. And I think it should make sense to most people.

ERIC KOREEN: Yeah. I was talking to James Herbert of CBS about this, and he sort of-- he was making the point-- I don't want to steal his point, but he was, like, yeah, Gradey Dick and Otto Porter, Jr., assuming Otto Porter, Jr. is healthy, are, like, actually going to be important to this team. Because, like, while maybe they're not-- and I don't want to speak for Porter, he's, obviously, had, like, very good moments in his career, including just two years ago-- but, like, while maybe they're not quote unquote "better" than the guys that I've put in front of them in terms of creating functional lineups, they might be more important.

So that could also be a factor too. And, like, the Raptors-- now, we made this mistake last year-- in theory, they have enough, like, individual defensive talent to maybe get by with one or two weaker spots. But there will be mixing and matching. And, like, I almost think, like, not to degrade the question, but it's like, eh, eventually, this guy is going to be playing a good chunk of minutes this year. So whether it's happening right away or not, like, I don't think it's a huge deal, which won't stop us from talking in mid November like it's a huge deal.

AMIT MANN: Yeah. The fact that Raptors can go, like, legitimately 13 deep is something to ponder about. Like, huh, I mean, sure, you can, and you have, like, a lot of players who can play NBA minutes, but maybe you need some clarity there just a little bit.

ERIC KOREEN: Like, I still sort of, like, wouldn't be surprised if, like, one of Boucher, Thad Young, or Otto Porter is gone before the regular season starts. Now is an awkward time to make, like, smaller trades. Like, you often see, like, bigger trades happen now just because they take so long for the posturing to die-- sorry, I bring it up a conversation you didn't want to have re Damian Lillard.

But, like, the posturing has to die down and the teams have to get serious. Those smaller trades might be ripple effects of what that happens, maybe. But, like, going in, there are a lot of guys who would rightfully, based on what they've shown they can do either in flashes or for longer than just flashes, would say, why is a rookie who can't hold up defensively-- I don't want to say that for sure, but, like, he's certainly a skinny dude right now-- why is that guy playing in front of me?

And I think that's-- especially on a team that might be bending a bit toward-- like, we don't know which way that they're going to go fully, but, like, if they are, indeed, going to bend a bit toward development over, like, every last win matters, you do want some clarity there probably. But Masai Ujiri also isn't the type to throw away a guy because of that.

He wants to-- he wants-- he's an opportunist when it comes to trades. He wants-- he does not like the idea of losing a transaction. And that's usually very good, and I would argue sometimes maybe not ideal. Sometimes you just got to let something go for the sake--

AMIT MANN: Let it fly.

ERIC KOREEN: Bigger picture. Anyway, yeah, he'll-- Gradey Dick will be playing enough by the time the season is over, unless something very weird has happened.