As the Kawhi Leonard trade drifts toward official status, the Clippers are staring at a problem that usually gets solved quietly and quickly: they’ve got too many bodies and not enough room. With 17 players currently on the roster, Los Angeles has to clear two spots before the season begins in October, and that kind of squeeze always puts somebody on edge.
In this case, Gradey Dick has become one of the names to watch. The 22-year-old swingman was part of the massive deal, but there’s no guarantee that means he sticks around long enough to matter in the Clippers’ plans. The new-look group already looks crowded, especially after the additions of Peyton Watson and Max Strus, and the projected starting five - Darius Garland, Keaton Wagler, Brandon Ingram, Derrick Jones Jr., and Brook Lopez - only adds to the sense that this roster is overflowing with established pieces.
Dick’s path to this point hasn’t exactly helped his case. After Toronto made him a 2023 lottery pick, the expectation was that he could grow into the kind of sharpshooter his pre-draft profile suggested, especially after a strong season at Kansas.
Instead, the NBA adjustment kept getting tougher. He shot 36.5 percent from deep as a rookie, then 35.0 percent in his sophomore season while taking more threes, and then fell all the way to 30.1 percent in the 2025-26 season.
And it wasn’t just the jumper. Toronto also tried him in other spots - rebounding, cutting, energy defense - but those experiments didn’t really change the picture. By the time his junior year rolled around, he had slipped down the Raptors’ rotation and was being passed at times by a surging Ja’Kobe Walter and even Jamison Battle.
That’s what makes his situation in LA so shaky. The Clippers already have a roster stuffed with more established options, and Dick may not be high enough on the list to survive the first round of cuts.
If Los Angeles wants to keep him, it could move on from other young players such as Cam Christie or the recently-acquired Johni Broome first. It could also try to shed expiring contracts like Derrick Jones Jr. or Kris Dunn, or even reroute Dick to a third team after the Kawhi trade.
For now, though, the direction is pretty clear: Dick is sliding further into the background in a Clippers setup that may not have much patience for a player still trying to find his footing.
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The intriguing part for Toronto is that this kind of buzz is not just about nostalgia for what Leonard once did in a Raptors uniform. It is also about how much his presence would reshape the teams outlook in a conference where the margin between contender and also-ran can be thin. Even with the excitement building, the bigger question is how far that single addition can carry a roster that still has work to do, and that uncertainty is what keeps this story alive. [Read more 🡒]