What a crazy turn of events for the former 5-star center.
First, Mitchell Robinson committed to Western Kentucky University. Obviously, this is an out-of-the-ordinary school selection for such a highly rated prospect. What drew the big man to WKU was the fact that his godfather was on the coaching staff.
Too bad his godfather recently resigned. Following him were three more of the Hilltoppers assistants. This didn’t sit well with Robinson.
After just two weeks of the summer semester, Robinson disappeared. Without any indications or conversations with the coaching staff, he just left.
This move then prompted Western Kentucky to suspend Robinson due to a violation of team rules, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.
Western Kentucky freshman Mitchell Robinson has left campus, source told ESPN. Will be interesting to see if he is persuaded to return.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) July 28, 2017
Now, just one day later, ESPN’s No. 8 prospect in 2017 has been granted a release from the school. Robinson is now free to sign and play for another team this season, but the chances are slim.
While every team may be interested in his services, it may be too late for him this season. Since nearly every program has already started their offseason training the time table for Robinson is very slim. If he intends to play this season he would most likely need to declare for a new school within the next few weeks.
Instead, he will more than likely be ineligible for the 2018-19 season. And apparently, he’s fine with that. Goodman reported that Robinson is content with idea of possibly sitting out this year if means he gets to leave the school.
So, what does this mean for the Celtics?
Well, recently due to an abrupt increase in below-level teams, there’s a possibility that neither of the C’s picks will fall in the early lottery. More likely than not, the Lakers will have a better chance of being a non-lottery team.
Let’s be honest, the Nets are at least one of the five worst teams in the league. As a result, I would be extremely surprised if Brooklyn’s pick was within the top-5.
The Lakers on the other hand have a chance to be decent. Not good, but okay. I think it’s very possible that the additions of Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Brooke Lopez can put Los Angeles ahead of 8-9 NBA teams.
You may be asking yourself, “what does this have to with Mitchell Robinson?” Well, allow me to explain.
While Robinson may elect to wait a year and then play in college, he has alternatives.
The first of these is if he somehow picks a new school ASAP and gets cleared by the NCAA.
The second and more notable option is playing overseas. We’ve seen this move in the past by the likes of Emmanuel Mudiay and most recently Terrance Ferguson.
Both players were ranked highly out of high school, but elected to refine their skills overseas as opposed to in college.
Ferguson was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder at about the range where he was projected. Mudiay is in a more similar situation to Robinson.
Each player declared for a lesser known college and then bailed due to coaching concerns.
Mudiay, like Robinson, entered a weak draft class.
Still, with much so much uncertainty, Mudiay slipped down the draft passed where he originally was thought to be drafted.
This may happen to Robinson as well. If he is truly determined to enter the 2018 NBA Draft his best option may be to play overseas. If this is the case, Robinson may also slip in the draft and fall right into the Celtics lap.
Robinson is an exceptional finisher around the rim with a decent mid-range game. He’s an strong rebounder averaging 20 boards per 40 minutes. Finally, he’s one of the best shot-blockers in EYBL history behind only Nerlens Noel.
Overall, he’s a prototypical NBA center who can still grow as a player.
If the stars do align and this all comes to fruition the C’s may finally get their center for the future.