2023 NBA Mock Draft: Spurs land franchise PG, tanking pays off for Pistons

Gradey Dick is easily one of my personal favorite prospects in his draft class that I’m confident has more upside than he’s generally given credit for. While we have several players picked before him in this mock draft due to their star-level attributes, don’t mistake: shooting comes at a premium, and Dick will bring a ton of that to the league. He’s one of the best off-ball movers in his class, shot 40% from three on a high volume of shots, is a master of the one- to two-dribble pull-up, and has several moves to create enough space on the perimeter to get a shot off.

With that in mind, though, it’s Dick’s ancillary skills that make him such a valuable prospect in my mind. He has an excellent feel for the game on offense, knowing where the space is, when to cut, and when to make a play for a teammate if the defense collapses on him. While NBA teams almost certainly won’t be asking him to do much off the dribble, if he has a defender beat and forces the help, he almost always capitalizes in some way.

Dick will need to improve his core and lower body strength in particular so he isn’t so prone to mismatches on defense, and his handle will need to tighten up if he’s expected to be anything more than a spot-up shooter. But if he puts all of the pieces of the puzzle together, he can be quite a bit better than many are letting on.