Gradey Dick is having a horrible rookie season so far. 4.4 pts on 43% TS is really bad. He’s also grading out as one of the worst impactful rookies of his class so far in most advanced metrics.

But I’m not saying he’s a bust, I actually do believe his shot will start falling and he can become a serviceable bench roleplayer. If everything breaks right, he seems like he could be a better version of Kevin Huerter which is great.

But looking at how other rookies are doing so far, I find myself understanding the pick less and less. Pick 14, Jordan Hawkins is averaging 14ppg on 54% TS and 36% from 3. Keynote George is averaging 5 assists. Brandon Podziemski and Marcus Sasser are also looking great. These guys all clearly have higher base floors than Gradey while also having higher ceilings than a Kevin Huerter roleplayers type due to their better athletic ability, playmaking skill, shot creation, etc that Gradey doesn’t have.

So why did we pick a roleplayer shooter over guys who can fill our hole of high potential, shot creators with similar if not better shooting ability? It’s not like we’re a contending team that can take a rookie shooter and get them tons of open looks so they contribute right away. This team has a clear lack of top end talent and I don’t see how picking a low ceiling shooter is actually the right move in any way.

Help me understand?