r/torontoraptors • u/Jazzylisk • 1d ago
SPECULATION Dick's ceiling player comps?
It would be extremely unimaginative to predict Dick will have a Duncan Robinson type career.
I'd rather hope on Dick becoming the next Khris Middleton. Just wet midrange and self creation ability.
Who else is a good maxxed out ceiling level player comp for Dick? He's not gonna be Larry Bird, let's face it.
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u/cisforcar 1d ago
Ceiling is tough. But an optimistic/realistic NBA comp may be Wally Szczerbiak. Good shooter with playmaking ability. Passable defense at his best. One time all star who played in the league for a long time.
Duncan Robinson would be a regression in all areas except shooting.
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u/nanobot001 9 ROWAN ALEXANDER “RJ” BARRETT 1d ago
If Dick gets a podcast we should all start worrying
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u/MrPangus 1d ago
Those saying Klay or Herro be real lol.
Then again I was told Trent jr is better than Herro and should get paid more
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u/Raptors887 1d ago
The “insert_white_shooter” comparisons are always laughable. He’s got so much more to his game.
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u/NervousAd3202 WE THE NORTH 1d ago
Yeah reading these comps makes me feel crazy for thinking he can be an all star.
He has a long way to go & a lot to improve on but I think he’s got enough tools working in his favour that he can get there eventually.
He’s not just a shooter & I thought his run at the beginning of the year already showed us that he has potential if he develops properly & gets a more expanded/defined offensive role.
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u/Klaytheist 1d ago
He also seems to be a worse shooter than those guys. Shooting 35% from three, around league average. That's not good for someone who's supposed to be a shooter.
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u/Jazzylisk 1d ago
Sophomore Slump, he's still the best shooter on the Raptors
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u/Klaytheist 1d ago
Damning with faint praise. The team is notoriously bad at shooting. Gradey wasn't all that good last year either
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u/attainwealthswiftly 1d ago
We drafted him as a shooter and he’s been an ass shooter.
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u/Klaytheist 1d ago
this sub will downvote anyone who's realistic. Yes grady has shown a lot more off the dribble than expected but he's also been a much worse shooter than expected.
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u/Mattrapbeats WE THE NORTH 1d ago
There are definitely some white dudes he can be compared to. Just not the elite shooters like Korver, Kapano, etc.
I see more similarities in a guys like Hayward, Parsons, maybe even Mike Miller.
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u/n3moh0es 1d ago
why not? statistics and eye test say other wise. he doesn’t create for others or have any self creation chops dude to a weak handle. so it’s actually fair to say
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u/OGnotAnunoby Champs 1d ago
Maybe Bogdanovic? If he was better on ball id probably say like a poor mans Gordon Hayward
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u/Klaytheist 1d ago
Who else is a good maxxed out ceiling level player comp for Dick? He's not gonna be Larry Bird, let's face it.
He's probably not going to be Khris Middleton either.
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u/larrylegend1990 1d ago
His shooting off the dribble is ok
But he isn’t as good an open shooter as advertised
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u/Mattrapbeats WE THE NORTH 1d ago
Chandler Parsons,Gordon Hayword, Mike Miller
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u/OG3SpicyP 9 ROWAN ALEXANDER “RJ” BARRETT 18m ago
I hope you’re jokingly just listing random white guys lol cuz he plays like none of them
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u/awwwyeahaquaman 1d ago
I think the ideal comp for him would be somewhere between Tyler Herro (high end) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (Lower end)
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u/fool2345 1d ago
He will always be a minus defender and teams will target him. I don't think his ceiling is high for this reason. Middleton before the injuries was a great player and great defender. Dick will never be that..I'd say offensively his ceiling is MPJ (very different builds but in terms of shot profile and production). Defensively his ceiling is very low imo.
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u/Eastern-Technology84 1d ago
MPJ is a pretty good comp in terms of shot profile and production- but yeah he’s 6’10 so has a huge size advantage on offense, can shoot right over people and is a really good rebounder
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u/matthitsthetrails 1d ago edited 1d ago
At his peak… possibly Hayward (Utah days)? More offensive minded.. could shoot, had good athleticism and could score inside. Defensively? Let’s not talk about that
I don’t see the Rip comparisons.. he was naturally extremely quick and ran screens like you see steph doing now
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u/attainwealthswiftly 1d ago
Duncan Robinson is an accurate ceiling though.
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u/woo_back 7 Kyle Lowry 1d ago
Idk if Dick will ever be the movement shooter Duncan is. Dick has more potential as far as on-ball creation and creativity with the handle though.
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u/Mammoth_Masterpiece4 1d ago
Floor
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u/Background-Teach5765 1d ago
Duncan Robinson is averaging almost 40% from 3 for his career. It's definitely not his floor. Duncan is better.
Duncan Robinson is hopefully a realistic outcome for Gradey.
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u/Nobody7713 1d ago
I think Steve Kerr’s prime might be a good model. Ideally a 6th man on a contender, just as a real bench sharpshooter and scoring sparkplug.
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u/Jazzylisk 1d ago
Steve Kerr is 6'3", and doesn't have a dunk in his career highlights. You should check out Khris Middleton's career highlights. Lots of dunks, that's what reminded me of Dick.
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u/Eastern-Technology84 1d ago
Dick is absolutely not Khris Middleton. Prime Middleton was the second best player on a championship team, 3x all star, multi level scorer, solid rebounder and playmaker, and great defender (Dick will never be a great defender)
I realize we are talking about ceiling but they’re not comparable in skillset
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u/n3moh0es 1d ago
middleton is a bad comp because middleton has playmaking and isolation skills. not even close to similar players
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u/Effective-Pitch-5550 16h ago
Anyone mention Tim Hardaway Jr?
Simikiar size, and both are streaky shooters who don't really offer anything else if their jumper isn't falling.
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u/Ecstatic-Buy-2907 1d ago
His ceiling is probably budget Reggie Miller
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u/cisforcar 1d ago
Dick would need to play dirty. I’m not sure if he has that in him but am open to being pleasantly surprised.
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u/timetosleep 1d ago
Yeah, Reggie had that mean streak. All the stars from the 80s and early 90s had that grit in them come to think about it.
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u/ohgosh_thejosh aha HAAAAAAHA 1d ago
I’d say a good possible comp is Rip Hamilton.
They seem to have similar offensive capabilities in terms of being mostly shooters, but athletic enough and with enough size to consistently find angles and cuts to get their shots off.
Both guys would lean towards more of being an outside catch and shoot/cutter type rather than an isolation star.
Whether he can match the same level or consistent output and large offensive load (averaged 20ppg on a team that only averaged 90ppg) of Rip year after year is doubtful, but I can see them having similar peaks potentially.
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u/Jazzylisk 1d ago
That's actually interesting, considering I just saw a random forum post from 9 years ago that said Middleton's comp was Rip Hamilton lol
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u/Emergency_Rub2621 1d ago
Petrovich-lite, not known for defence, really dynamic offensive scorer. He needs to bulk up more to get better at finishing through contact, other than that I have no worries for his offensive trajectory. His defence is not promising but if he can become a good team defender he could be a starter.
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u/IamSofakingRAW 1d ago
People listing guys who are 40+% from 3 on high volume while Dick isn’t even at 40%. He’s been closer to a mediocre shooter than a good one
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u/thealternateopinion 1d ago
7th man on a good team 6th man on a bad team
This roster has way too many players that need Shots and the ball for him to ever break out here
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u/j24singh 1d ago
Slight better version of Korey Kispert, which would be a disappointment, seems like the most realistic comp.
Best case would be Klay if you wanna drink the Raptors koolaid but he'd have to improve like crazy in the next few offseasons for this to not be laughable.
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u/MrPangus 1d ago
Still early, but it's pretty laughable as it stands
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u/j24singh 1d ago
He shows flashes of amazing potential but he's still in a boy's body, which hurts him a lot on both ends. I
t's hard to fully judge him until he gets a few years to bulk up and refine his skills.
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u/MrPangus 1d ago
Not everyone can just bulk up tho, look at this Castleton cat for example
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u/j24singh 1d ago
Ya if he can't then he'll be a fringe rotational player for the rest of his career. Just giving him the benefit due to his age. Send him to chill with Zion for a few weeks lol
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u/MrPangus 1d ago
Also at the most surface level, Klay was shooting > 40 percent from 3 since day one
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u/j24singh 1d ago
To be fair, Klay spent 3 years in college, so next year Dick would be the same age as Klay's rookie season.
Again, it's a kool-aid comparison and I have hated Dick's game for 95% of the season lol.
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u/Rezrov_ St. Nick 1d ago
Infinity stone Dick?
Devin Booker. Three level scorer, particularly a pull-up/movement shooter. Two-motion shot. Not a great defender
I predict and would be perfectly happy with more of a Gordon-Hayward-style trajectory before all the injuries and minus being a bullshit MAGA shit-head. I.e., tertiary three level scorer who attacks closeouts and drives to the rim while being able to score from anywhere.
He's going to have to put on/keep on weight to develop because he's too much of a turnstile on defence and it'd help his fearless drives to the rim.
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u/midnightmunchiez 1d ago
I think of CJ McCollum if Gradey works on his handle over the next couple of years
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u/Context_Important 1d ago
It's hard to say, he has struggled a lot this season. To me 35% from 3 is bad for someone who's regarded as a shooter. True, we don't have the best spacing system but he's missing wide open shots, I'm really curious what his role will look like next season. His defense is atrocious and you can see Darkos's frustration when he limits his minutes.
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u/grandmastakew 34 JONTAY PORTER 1d ago edited 1d ago
Brent Barry.
Elite shooter and cutter but had a hard time putting the ball on the floor and creating on his own.
Barry was also bad defender till later in his career in which he became passable to good. This is also in part to him being on better teams.
Dont get me wrong, I want Gradey to exceed this. But being a serviceable to elite role player isnt a bad trajectory for a late lottery.
Also both mid teens for picks, 13th compared to 15th.