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VANCOUVER – Gradey Dick repeated one word to describe the feeling heading into his first game against the team that drafted him in 2023 — “bittersweet.”
As part of the package sent from the Toronto Raptors to the Los Angeles Clippers in return for aging superstar Kawhi Leonard, Dick suited up against the Raptors in preseason action at Rogers Arena on Saturday.
The Raptors sent Dick, Brandon Ingram, two unprotected first-round picks (2031 and 2033), a 2027 first-round pick swap, and two second-round picks in exchange for Leonard, who helped Toronto win its only NBA title in his only season with the club in 2018-19.
The club selected Dick 13th overall in the 2023 draft. He averaged 20 minutes and 9.2 points per game over three seasons in Canada.
“It got me thinking about the last three years,” Dick said hours before tipoff in Vancouver on Saturday. “It’s a little bittersweet, but at the same time, this is NBA basketball.”
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The 22-year-old grew up and played high school and college basketball in Kansas before he was drafted by Toronto.
“I came from Kansas and went to Toronto, the first time I lived away from my family,” Dick added. “(Toronto) welcomed me with open arms. That’s why it’s a little bittersweet.”
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The trade faced complications, with the Clippers and Raptors opting not to complete a deal until the NBA completes a salary cap circumvention investigation against the Clippers.
The NBA opened its files in September to see whether a $28 million endorsement contract involving Leonard violated league rules.
The 35-year-old is working his way back to fitness and is not expected to play for the short term.
Leonard is coming off the highest scoring season of his career, averaging 27.9 points for the Clippers in 65 games.
The investigation left Dick in limbo as he waited for the league to complete its work before a trade could be completed.
“Luckily around that time I was on holiday with my family,” he said. “It’s easy to ask them to help me stay calm and not focus too much on other things.
“On the basketball side, all I do is do my individual job and be ready for whatever decision is made.”
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said he is looking for the Wichita-born forward to be more consistent from the three-point line.
“I’ve talked to him this summer about being a 38, 40 percent three-point shooter,” said Lue, who added that he wasn’t sure if Dick’s confidence had taken a hit. “He was pretty close his first year in the league.”
Dick shot 36 percent from beyond the arc in his first season, but that dropped to 30 percent when he left Toronto.
“He’s very talented and able to cut the way he does, cut the way he does, to play in transition,” Lue said. “Add that to his game, I think it will make him a very good player.”
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said he and Dick were able to text on Friday and have a little meeting before Saturday’s game.
“He’s one of the most talented players in his draft class and I think he’s going to have a great career,” Rajakovic said. “He just needs to be consistent, have consistent opportunities and he will shine.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2026.
© 2026 Canadian Press
