The Portland Trail Blazers must address their lack of shooting by the Feb. 5 trade deadline, and there may be no better fit than Toronto Raptors guard Gradey Dick.
Bleacher Report's Dan Favale named three trade targets for every team in 2026. For Portland, those targets included Trey Murphy III, Gradey Dick, and Sam Merrill. Favale has the right approach, as all three are reliable floor spacers that would help open up the Blazers' entire offense.
It's no secret that the Blazers need help in the three-point shooting department. They're on track to finish the third consecutive year ranking in the bottom five. Not an ideal category to be behind the rest of the league in, considering the analytical importance of the three-ball in today's NBA. Deni Avdija's ascension has allowed Portland to catch up in terms of star power out west, but they're still fighting an uphill battle with such a poor shooting team.
The good news is that Avdija's star breakout should give general manager Joe Cronin more incentive to buy at the trade deadline. The Blazers have overcome multiple injuries this season, proving that their young core is too talented to bottom out and position themselves for a top draft pick. With that being the case, they can now take their rebuild in the other direction, trying to find pieces to add to their young core via trade. While there are several intriguing options out there, Dick presents a golden buy-low opportunity.
Blazers should buy low on Gradey Dick at the deadline
Now in Year 3, Dick is having a career-worst season in Toronto. His shooting ability was a major reason the Raptors invested a lottery pick in the Kansas product in 2023, yet he's connecting on just 30.7% of his 3-point attempts this season.
Still, this could be a good thing for an opportunistic team like Portland at the deadline. Dick has hovered around 36% from deep in his first two seasons, suggesting that this is simply a bad stretch that will eventually regress to the mean.
As a 6-foot-7 guard, he has the length that Portland's front office covets. That, combined with his floor-spacing ability, would make him an ideal addition to their young core, giving the Blazers' bench another dimension they currently lack.
It's rare to have a buy-low opportunity on a 22-year-old former lottery pick, but this is exactly the type of swing that Portland needs to be taking at the deadline.