Gradey Dick Could Be Intriguing Buy-Low Trade Option for Clippers

With the Los Angeles Clippers' offseason underway, much of the focus has centered around two major storylines. What the draft lottery will bring and what the front office’s plan should be if Indiana’s pick falls outside the top four and conveys to the Clippers. The other being the future of Kawhi Leonard, who is coming off an MVP-caliber year and is looking for a situation that better positions him to compete for his third NBA championship.

While these two storylines are what most fans are hyper-fixating on, I promise the front office is thinking and planning for a million different things. When you miss the playoffs by as little as the Clippers did, margins become even more important. Whether it’s getting a percentile better from three or improving the rebounding margin by a fraction, those things all matter more when you end a season the way LA did.

For the Clippers, they struggled mightily from three, as they just didn’t attempt enough threes per game to compensate for their lack of star talent outside of Kawhi and Darius Garland. This is where the door swings open for LA to pursue some buy-low shooters, and it appears a perfect one is waiting for them in Toronto.

The Clippers Have a Clear Buy-Low Opportunity in Toronto

After the Raptors were eliminated in Game 7 of round one against the Cavaliers, questions started to arise about former No. 13 pick Gradey Dick and his future in Toronto. Michael Grange of SportsNet, in an offseason look-ahead article, mentioned Dick as a likely trade candidate for the Raptors. Grange suggested trading Dick into another team's cap space would be a way for the Dinos to duck the tax and would make sense given he, for the most part, fell out of the team's rotation post All-Star break.

For a Clippers team looking for shooting, size on the wing, and young talent, Dick could be a perfect target this summer.

Coming into the league as a lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Dick was viewed as a knockdown sniper who brought positional size. Those two traits alone led many to believe he was a safe pick for Toronto. But his struggles in translating his college shooting into the NBA are why many anticipate he’ll be moved this summer.

The 22-year-old shot 30.1 percent from three this season, and while that may be a reason to steer clear, for a couple of second-round picks, the Clippers should take a swing. In his one season with Kansas, Dick shot 40.3 percent from three on over 5.7 attempts per game. When you’re a shooter like that, your stroke doesn’t just vanish one day. If LA can help Dick rediscover his confidence and shooting stroke, they could have a real long-term connective piece.

For a Clippers team that hasn’t planted its flag in a clear direction, Dick would be a perfect target. Long-term, he could be a project that develops into a versatile scoring weapon, and in the short term, he could be a great connective shooter. He is the perfect buy-low target that can fit whatever path Lawrence Frank and the front office decide to move forward with.

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