Former KU star Gradey Dick trying to be ‘sponge’ with Toronto Raptors in NBA preseason

As a young NBA rookie, one who turns 20-years-old on Nov. 20, Toronto Raptors guard Gradey Dick may be forced to carry some older players’ suitcases on 2023-24 road trips, sing his college fight song at team dinners and/or engage in other good-natured initiation rights.

“Veterans in this league like to mess around with the rookies. That comes with the territory. It’s OK to do that but you’ve got to take care of those guys, you’ve got to show them the ropes first,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic told The Canadian Press at the team’s recent media day in Toronto.

Rajakovic was happy to report the Raptors’ elder statesmen, players such as 37-year-old Garrett Temple, 35-year-old Thad Young and 30-year-old Otto Porter Jr., already have tossed some pointers the 6-foot-8, 205-pound former University of Kansas player’s way.

“Garrett is already taking him under his wing,” Rajakovic said.

Dick — he was selected by Toronto with the 13th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft — has made it clear to the Raptors’ vets he’s receptive to any instruction they might be willing to offer.

“He’s young. He’s going to have to learn and continue to get better,” 29-year old Raptors star Pascal Siakam told SI.com. “But the most important thing is he’s willing to listen. When you talk to him, he seems attentive and that’s all you can ask for.”

Dick, a native of Wichita who played for Sunrise Christian Academy two years ago and KU in 2022-23, will need to adjust quickly if he hopes to be a rotation player his rookie season. In his Oct. 8 NBA exhibition debut, he came off the bench to score five points on 2-of-6 shooting (1-of-4 from 3) with three rebounds, one assist, two steals and two turnovers in Toronto’s 112-99 victory over Sacramento in Vancouver, Canada. He played 14 minutes.

On Sunday, in the Raptors’ second exhibition of the preseason, he again scored five points on 2-of-7 shooting (1-of-4 from 3) with two rebounds and two assists while playing 17 minutes in a 134-93 rout of Australia’s Cairns Taipans in Toronto.

“My biggest thing,” Dick told the Toronto Star at Media Day, “is learning from amazing coach Darko and the vets and utilize that to my advantage.”

Of the team’s older players that are helping him, Dick said: “Those guys are huge mentors to me. I can’t even tell you the age gap between us. I could probably be their son. Garrett … a guy that has been in the league that long (since 2010), me learning the ropes from him, I try to take everything he says and put it in my game.”

Dennis Schroder, a 30-year-old Raptors’ guard has also been mentoring Dick.

“We’ve been doing some shooting games since his first practice (since returning from a stint with the German national team). He’s a great personality,” Dick said. “We already all got along before we got here, so when we added him it was a plus.”

He’s already taken to heart something one of the veterans told him.

“Don’t let one thing dictate your emotions. It always comes down to body language,” Dick said. “I think that’s what I held to a high standard of mine when I was in college.

“Hearing from them how many more games we play in the NBA than college is insane. They tell me over and over that one little thing is not going to change the course of game for you. Be in the moment. Watch your emotions, keep them in check.”

Dick, who averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds a game in his one-and-done season at KU, has spent a lot of time in Toronto since playing for the Raptors’ summer league team in early July in Vegas.

“Meeting the new guys, obviously I’m the new guy coming in,” said Dick. “I come out with the mindset (of) being that sponge, soaking up all the knowledge, all the teachings from the vets and coaches. I’m somebody wiling to learn everything.”

He’s noticed some differences between college and the NBA.

“I think one of the biggest changes is probably just the spacing on the court. It’s a lot more wide-open game compared (to college), a lot more matchup oriented defenses where people will go at you and you will go at them.”

Dick said in his brief time with the NBA team, “I’ve gotten a better overall understanding of the game, the pace of the game, not really focusing on one aspect of my game but all around, whether it be finding what the team needs at the moment, whether getting offensive rebounds, extra possessions. I’m focusing on that stuff.”

Dick in his final game in the Vegas summer league had 21 points, five rebounds, two steals and a block. Now he’s ready for games that count in the standings.

“This is a testament to all the hard work and everything, and it’s paying off. Summer league was an amazing time and it’s a real deal now,” Dick said on Media Day.

He’s ready for what he hopes will be a long NBA career.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “I talk about being thankful I was drafted. The biggest thing to remember is this is where all the work starts, to not be able to settle or be content. I need to be ready to go to work every day, to continue to achieve my goals in the future.”

The reviewers were kind to the Raptors rookie on Sunday despite his shots not falling.

“One highlight of the game was seeing Gradey Dick operate and play in Toronto for the first time. Though he only scored five points, he was extremely active on the court and showed a lot of sparks of skill that could be useful for the Raptors in the regular season,” wrote Chelsea Leite of raptorshq.com.

“Basically no takeaways for Toronto (in such a rout) against Cairns, but Gradey Dick is having a really cool game for a guy who’s not hitting shots. He is way more than just a shooter,” wrote Louis Zatzman of Raptors Republic in a post on social media site X.