The Gradey Dick Thread Part 2

[Harry Palmer]

I don't think Gradey was the clear best player available at 13, some good evidence to that effect is I didn't see anyone on this board clamoring for us to draft him at 13. I believe a lot of posters here thought we would take Bufkin, and the announcers on the broadcast didn't seem to think it was an obvious pick either, as they liked Jordan Hawkins or Cam Whitmore better. Most seemed to think it was an ok pick, but not necessarily a case of us taking the obvious BPA.

This is a bit of hindsight though. No one was clamouring for us to get Gradey at 13 because he was just outside of our range by most projections/rankings. It was almost universally expected for him to go in the 8-12 range while a lot of scouts and insiders expected him to go to Orlando at #11.

Of course most people on this board are going to support him after the pick is made, that's what fans do, the guy is on our team now, we all have to collectively believe he's going to be a great player for us.

Before the draft, no one was talking about how great it would be if Gradey Dick dropped to us, and right before our pick was in I didn't see anyone salivating over getting him in a Raptor uniform, it was all posts excited about us drafting Kobe Bufkin, Keyonte George, or Cam Whitmore. Post draft grades on various websites didn't give the Raptors a top grade for getting Gradey slightly later than some mock drafts had him getting drafted, I just didn't see him being a consensus pick at 13 like some here are making out.

Allowing your wants to shape your expectations is a formula for frustration and anger, as per Seneca the Elder. As a fan you should want your players to succeed, but that shouldn’t cost your objectivity. That said, as stated above, Dick was not considered a reach, so there was ~ objective reason to suppose he’d be better than he has thus far. That said, as a Jayhawk fan I was surprised to see Raps fans considering him to be a major piece; he was always projected to be an upper level role player or lower level starter. I still think that’s achievable. And if the team is bad enough he might get a larger role by default.

[pingpongrac]

I don't think Gradey was the clear best player available at 13, some good evidence to that effect is I didn't see anyone on this board clamoring for us to draft him at 13. I believe a lot of posters here thought we would take Bufkin, and the announcers on the broadcast didn't seem to think it was an obvious pick either, as they liked Jordan Hawkins or Cam Whitmore better. Most seemed to think it was an ok pick, but not necessarily a case of us taking the obvious BPA.

This is a bit of hindsight though. No one was clamouring for us to get Gradey at 13 because he was just outside of our range by most projections/rankings. It was almost universally expected for him to go in the 8-12 range while a lot of scouts and insiders expected him to go to Orlando at #11.

Of course most people on this board are going to support him after the pick is made, that's what fans do, the guy is on our team now, we all have to collectively believe he's going to be a great player for us.

Before the draft, no one was talking about how great it would be if Gradey Dick dropped to us, and right before our pick was in I didn't see anyone salivating over getting him in a Raptor uniform, it was all posts excited about us drafting Kobe Bufkin, Keyonte George, or Cam Whitmore. Post draft grades on various websites didn't give the Raptors a top grade for getting Gradey slightly later than some mock drafts had him getting drafted, I just didn't see him being a consensus pick at 13 like some here are making out.

Huh? A lot of media outlets and reporters saying it was a really good pick. And after a quick Google search now, the majority of outlets gave the Raptors an A- or better (7 of the first 10 that showed up after my search) while the others were B+ or B. Everyone thought it was a very good pick that would theoretically improve two of our weakest points (spacing and three-point shooting), but it hasn't happened yet in the ~225 NBA minutes we've seen with Gradey on the floor.

He may not have been the consensus pick at 13 because a few others also dropped, but he was arguably the BPA at that point or at least right there with Whitmore. Guys like Bufkin and George were thought of to be higher-ceiling players if they reached their potential though.

[Psubs]

This is a bit of hindsight though. No one was clamouring for us to get Gradey at 13 because he was just outside of our range by most projections/rankings. It was almost universally expected for him to go in the 8-12 range while a lot of scouts and insiders expected him to go to Orlando at #11.

Of course most people on this board are going to support him after the pick is made, that's what fans do, the guy is on our team now, we all have to collectively believe he's going to be a great player for us.

Before the draft, no one was talking about how great it would be if Gradey Dick dropped to us, and right before our pick was in I didn't see anyone salivating over getting him in a Raptor uniform, it was all posts excited about us drafting Kobe Bufkin, Keyonte George, or Cam Whitmore. Post draft grades on various websites didn't give the Raptors a top grade for getting Gradey slightly later than some mock drafts had him getting drafted, I just didn't see him being a consensus pick at 13 like some here are making out.

Huh? A lot of media outlets and reporters saying it was a really good pick. And after a quick Google search now, the majority of outlets gave the Raptors an A- or better (7 of the first 10 that showed up after my search) while the others were B+ or B. Everyone thought it was a very good pick that would theoretically improve two of our weakest points (spacing and three-point shooting), but it hasn't happened yet in the ~225 NBA minutes we've seen with Gradey on the floor.

He may not have been the consensus pick at 13 because a few others also dropped, but he was arguably the BPA at that point or at least right there with Whitmore. Guys like Bufkin and George were thought of to be higher-ceiling players if they reached their potential though.

That's why should've traded FVV home to Chicago for Coby White and Lonzo Ball. Also should've traded Pascal last deadline and maybe they get Jalen Johnson added with AJ Griffin. Once Steven Adams was out for the year, flip Capela to Memphis for Kennard and Brandon Clarke.

PG CobyWhite - Cason - Flynn
SG Trent - Griffin - Cason
SF OG - Kennard/JalenJohson
PF Barnes - Boucher - Otto
C Poeltl - Precious - Thaddeus

IR: Koloko, Clarke, Lonzo (all covered by insurance)

No need to waste money on McDaniels and Temple. If they draft Cason Wallace, also don't have to spend the money on Schroder either. These moves would've saved around $45 million and might have a better record this season.

[Los_29]

Of course most people on this board are going to support him after the pick is made, that's what fans do, the guy is on our team now, we all have to collectively believe he's going to be a great player for us.

Before the draft, no one was talking about how great it would be if Gradey Dick dropped to us, and right before our pick was in I didn't see anyone salivating over getting him in a Raptor uniform, it was all posts excited about us drafting Kobe Bufkin, Keyonte George, or Cam Whitmore. Post draft grades on various websites didn't give the Raptors a top grade for getting Gradey slightly later than some mock drafts had him getting drafted, I just didn't see him being a consensus pick at 13 like some here are making out.

Huh? A lot of media outlets and reporters saying it was a really good pick. And after a quick Google search now, the majority of outlets gave the Raptors an A- or better (7 of the first 10 that showed up after my search) while the others were B+ or B. Everyone thought it was a very good pick that would theoretically improve two of our weakest points (spacing and three-point shooting), but it hasn't happened yet in the ~225 NBA minutes we've seen with Gradey on the floor.

He may not have been the consensus pick at 13 because a few others also dropped, but he was arguably the BPA at that point or at least right there with Whitmore. Guys like Bufkin and George were thought of to be higher-ceiling players if they reached their potential though.

That's why should've traded FVV home to Chicago for Coby White and Lonzo Ball. Also should've traded Pascal last deadline and maybe they get Jalen Johnson added with AJ Griffin. Once Steven Adams was out for the year, flip Capela to Memphis for Kennard and Brandon Clarke.

PG CobyWhite - Cason - Flynn
SG Trent - Griffin - Cason
SF OG - Kennard/JalenJohson
PF Barnes - Boucher - Otto
C Poeltl - Precious - Thaddeus

IR: Koloko, Clarke, Lonzo (all covered by insurance)

No need to waste money on McDaniels and Temple. If they draft Cason Wallace, also don't have to spend the money on Schroder either. These moves would've saved around $45 million and might have a better record this season.

I do appreciate your excitement for trades that were likely never on the table. lol.

I think it’s very important that we don’t buy into the Colby White hype. Not that he can’t be a great player but I just don’t like the mold that he’s in.

[ciueli]

This is a bit of hindsight though. No one was clamouring for us to get Gradey at 13 because he was just outside of our range by most projections/rankings. It was almost universally expected for him to go in the 8-12 range while a lot of scouts and insiders expected him to go to Orlando at #11.

Of course most people on this board are going to support him after the pick is made, that's what fans do, the guy is on our team now, we all have to collectively believe he's going to be a great player for us.

Before the draft, no one was talking about how great it would be if Gradey Dick dropped to us, and right before our pick was in I didn't see anyone salivating over getting him in a Raptor uniform, it was all posts excited about us drafting Kobe Bufkin, Keyonte George, or Cam Whitmore. Post draft grades on various websites didn't give the Raptors a top grade for getting Gradey slightly later than some mock drafts had him getting drafted, I just didn't see him being a consensus pick at 13 like some here are making out.

Huh? A lot of media outlets and reporters saying it was a really good pick. And after a quick Google search now, the majority of outlets gave the Raptors an A- or better (7 of the first 10 that showed up after my search) while the others were B+ or B. Everyone thought it was a very good pick that would theoretically improve two of our weakest points (spacing and three-point shooting), but it hasn't happened yet in the ~225 NBA minutes we've seen with Gradey on the floor.

He may not have been the consensus pick at 13 because a few others also dropped, but he was arguably the BPA at that point or at least right there with Whitmore. Guys like Bufkin and George were thought of to be higher-ceiling players if they reached their potential though.

So as I said, he wasn't the consensus, most of the draft grades I saw gave better marks to the Rockets for grabbing Cam Whitmore so low. Virtually everyone pointed out that Gradet was a defensive liability, one draft grade even said we had the defensive pieces in place to compensate for his lack of ability on that end so it was a good fit. Another gave us an A- just because we were a horrible 3 point shooting team and needed a shooter, nothing about us getting the best player available on the board.

[Tha Cynic]

Of course most people on this board are going to support him after the pick is made, that's what fans do, the guy is on our team now, we all have to collectively believe he's going to be a great player for us.

Before the draft, no one was talking about how great it would be if Gradey Dick dropped to us, and right before our pick was in I didn't see anyone salivating over getting him in a Raptor uniform, it was all posts excited about us drafting Kobe Bufkin, Keyonte George, or Cam Whitmore. Post draft grades on various websites didn't give the Raptors a top grade for getting Gradey slightly later than some mock drafts had him getting drafted, I just didn't see him being a consensus pick at 13 like some here are making out.

Huh? A lot of media outlets and reporters saying it was a really good pick. And after a quick Google search now, the majority of outlets gave the Raptors an A- or better (7 of the first 10 that showed up after my search) while the others were B+ or B. Everyone thought it was a very good pick that would theoretically improve two of our weakest points (spacing and three-point shooting), but it hasn't happened yet in the ~225 NBA minutes we've seen with Gradey on the floor.

He may not have been the consensus pick at 13 because a few others also dropped, but he was arguably the BPA at that point or at least right there with Whitmore. Guys like Bufkin and George were thought of to be higher-ceiling players if they reached their potential though.

That's why should've traded FVV home to Chicago for Coby White and Lonzo Ball. Also should've traded Pascal last deadline and maybe they get Jalen Johnson added with AJ Griffin. Once Steven Adams was out for the year, flip Capela to Memphis for Kennard and Brandon Clarke.

PG CobyWhite - Cason - Flynn
SG Trent - Griffin - Cason
SF OG - Kennard/JalenJohson
PF Barnes - Boucher - Otto
C Poeltl - Precious - Thaddeus

IR: Koloko, Clarke, Lonzo (all covered by insurance)

No need to waste money on McDaniels and Temple. If they draft Cason Wallace, also don't have to spend the money on Schroder either. These moves would've saved around $45 million and might have a better record this season.

I saw no reports or rumours that Chicago was offering White or that Jalen Johnson was available from Atlanta at any point. Only rumour between these two teams was about Griffin and Hunter. Cason Wallace was drafted before the Raptors picked. Am I missing something here?

[Los_29]

Of course most people on this board are going to support him after the pick is made, that's what fans do, the guy is on our team now, we all have to collectively believe he's going to be a great player for us.

Before the draft, no one was talking about how great it would be if Gradey Dick dropped to us, and right before our pick was in I didn't see anyone salivating over getting him in a Raptor uniform, it was all posts excited about us drafting Kobe Bufkin, Keyonte George, or Cam Whitmore. Post draft grades on various websites didn't give the Raptors a top grade for getting Gradey slightly later than some mock drafts had him getting drafted, I just didn't see him being a consensus pick at 13 like some here are making out.

Huh? A lot of media outlets and reporters saying it was a really good pick. And after a quick Google search now, the majority of outlets gave the Raptors an A- or better (7 of the first 10 that showed up after my search) while the others were B+ or B. Everyone thought it was a very good pick that would theoretically improve two of our weakest points (spacing and three-point shooting), but it hasn't happened yet in the ~225 NBA minutes we've seen with Gradey on the floor.

He may not have been the consensus pick at 13 because a few others also dropped, but he was arguably the BPA at that point or at least right there with Whitmore. Guys like Bufkin and George were thought of to be higher-ceiling players if they reached their potential though.

So as I said, he wasn't the consensus, most of the draft grades I saw gave better marks to the Rockets for grabbing Cam Whitmore so low. Virtually everyone pointed out that Gradet was a defensive liability, one draft grade even said we had the defensive pieces in place to compensate for his lack of ability on that end so it was a good fit. Another gave us an A- just because we were a horrible 3 point shooting team and needed a shooter, nothing about us getting the best player available on the board.

Whitmore was drafted 20th. If Dick was drafted 20th, that team would be getting an A/A+ grade as well. As Pingpongrac said, we received very good draft grades for picking Gradey. Most of the draft grades I read claimed "Toronto probably didn't expect Gradey to be available at their pick" and "they must be happy that Gradey slid to them at 13." Most mocks had Gradey in the lottery and the draft "experts" that follow this stuff year in and year out and have excellent track records all liked Gradey. These are people who had Scottie 2nd on their draft board behind Mobley, had Cade, Kuminga and Green low and had Sanguine and Franz quite high. This year they also had Jaquez and Podz ranked quite high. They know their stuff.

I expected more from Gradey this year. I think everyone is disappointed with how he's played. But we do need to remember that he's 20 years old and I believe just has one year of college under his belt.

[HiJiNX]

Gradey will be fine. He has the physical attributes of an NBA player and the processing. He is projected to have an NBA skill in shooting. That hasn’t arrived yet. It wouldn’t be the first time a shooter took a season to adjust to the NBA. It’s likely at this point that Gradey takes a couple years to start looking like he can make a positive impact because it appears the struggles have shaken his confidence. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him modify his shooting mechanics in the offseason, or at least try to shoot it so the shot has the same footwork, release point and arc every time.

[DG88]

This season is a wash for him so let him get his lumps and he can come back a better player next year

[HumbleRen]

Whitmore was the BPA but Gradey was not a reach at all.

Cason Wallace and Bilal were probably their main choices but thanks to devaluing their pick for Poeltl, they ended up with the 13th pick and those guys went earlier than expected.

I don’t think Gradey will continue to be a bottom 10 player in the league for long, he’ll find his shooting rhythm eventually. Hopefully.

[Zeno]

905 playing right now if anyone interested. No Gradey though. I guess they want to leave him at home with the Noah system and have him play home 905 games.

[niQ]

Man, wasn't fan of the pick as I wanted guard. But I understand how badly this team needs shooting. Our whole season is essentially a wash so hopefully he continues to develop wherever/whenever he is playing.

[Tom_Foolery]

The only question really left around Gradey Dick is would you?

[InfraRedshaw]

905 playing right now if anyone interested. No Gradey though. I guess they want to leave him at home with the Noah system and have him play home 905 games.

This is the G league showcase and you don't typically show case guys with guaranteed NBA money, this is a chance for the unknown guys to get some shine

[Zeno]

905 playing right now if anyone interested. No Gradey though. I guess they want to leave him at home with the Noah system and have him play home 905 games.

This is the G league showcase and you don't typically show case guys with guaranteed NBA money, this is a chance for the unknown guys to get some shine

Thanks for the info, that makes sense. Side note... Jontay Porter is looking pretty much like the second coming of Georges Niang. Any Mo G is absolutely ready to step up if Boucher is traded.

[ItsDanger]

Jarace Walker, Jett Howard played in G league showcase (both taken earlier in draft). But not Dick? Interesting.

[Brinbe]

Or maybe they don't wanna expose Gradey like that to the wider NBA universe with lots of different teams/scouts in attendance? Not that things are a secret but he'd hardly be showcasing anything at this point lol

[dozo]

I would rather watch Gradey build a house with his bricks than watch 400. basketball, which mirrors how the Leafs operated for years.

We had 3 HOF athletes playing in Toronto during the 2000's (Doc,Bosh,Sundin). None of the achieved teams success but accomplished individual accolades.

I can confidential say Scottie is a future top 15 all-nba player. Looking at the current roster Gradey is the only player that will be here when Scottie reaches his prime.

We Torontonians support losers a rebuild isnt going to scare the fans away. Look at the current standings, the NBA is experiencing the changing of guard this season.

Rebuild now!!

[Scase]

I would rather watch Gradey build a house with his bricks than watch 400. basketball, which mirrors how the Leafs operated for years.

We had 3 HOF athletes playing in Toronto during the 2000's (Doc,Bosh,Sundin). None of the achieved teams success but accomplished individual accolades.

I can confidential say Scottie is a future top 15 all-nba player. Looking at the current roster Gradey is the only player that will be here when Scottie reaches his prime.

We Torontonians support losers a rebuild isnt going to scare the fans away. Look at the current standings, the NBA is experiencing the changing of guard this season.

Rebuild now!!

Hell, Scottie is bordering on top 15 right now if All NBA is the metric, his stats are good enough for 3rd team IMO. I doubt he makes it this year, but unless he stagnates next year, it'll be hard to not see him getting some recognition for it.

[dozo]

I would rather watch Gradey build a house with his bricks than watch 400. basketball, which mirrors how the Leafs operated for years.

We had 3 HOF athletes playing in Toronto during the 2000's (Doc,Bosh,Sundin). None of the achieved teams success but accomplished individual accolades.

I can confidential say Scottie is a future top 15 all-nba player. Looking at the current roster Gradey is the only player that will be here when Scottie reaches his prime.

We Torontonians support losers a rebuild isnt going to scare the fans away. Look at the current standings, the NBA is experiencing the changing of guard this season.

Rebuild now!!

Hell, Scottie is bordering on top 15 right now if All NBA is the metric, his stats are good enough for 3rd team IMO. I doubt he makes it this year, but unless he stagnates next year, it'll be hard to not see him getting some recognition for it.

I agree, he has become a consistent 3 level scorer this season and can guard 1 through 5.

Who else is doing what he does?

The next step is learning how to win. Imho W's > stats

Its interesting that some posters are still doubting him when every coach and star players are acknowledging that Scottie is special talent.