2023 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: Blazers and Bulls find new life
. G, Kansas. Atlanta Hawks. Gradey Dick. 14. player. 125
The Hawks have been shooting themselves in the foot all season, starting with the summer decision to trade Kevin Huerter for ~cap reasons~. Well, it turns out that Huerter’s blend of shooting and secondary playmaking is quite valuable. Enter the replacement, Gradey Dick.
Putting together an impressive freshman season at Kansas, Dick is on the fast track to lottery consideration. He’s shooting the light outs for the Jayhawks (43.9 percent on 6.0 attempts per game), but he’s much more than a standstill shooter. Dick has proven quite nifty as a cutter, with the size and athleticism to effectively fill the lane and finish acrobatically at the rim. He can also whip some beautiful passes.
He will have some work to do to bulk up defensively, but Dick also profiles better than most shooting specialists on that end thanks to his size. At 6-foot-7, he competes on both sides of the ball and doesn’t have many glaring weaknesses.
The Hawks have two elite playmakers helming the offense in Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, perhaps the perfect set-up for a player of Dick’s ilk. He can slide right into the Huerter role, flying around screens, burying 3s, and making crisp passing reads.