Celtics add another do-it-all wing in Dillon Mitchell with one massive catch

The Celtics watched a lot of great prospects fly off the board to start the second round, but they still got a good one in Dillon Mitchell, out of St. John's, with the 40th overall pick. Mitchell was a top-five recruit coming out of high school, but was slow to get going at Texas before transferring to Cincinnati, and finally to the Johnnies, where he took off under Rick Pitino by leaning into everything he's good at, much like Josh Hart with the Knicks

Now, he’s a 22-year-old who made third-team All-Big East and the Big East’s All-Defense team. He’s a crazy athlete who can guard the other team’s best player and switch onto just about anyone. He has great size and length, with a perfect NBA-ready body.

He’s a great fit as another bench wing in Boston who should bring the same kind of energy we’ve seen in recent years from guys picked around the same range like Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, and Hugo Gonzalez. Add Ron Harper Jr. to the mix, and now Mitchell, and it’s clear that Brad Stevens has a type.

The only issue with Mitchell, however, is a big one. He has never developed a jump shot. Despite all of his physical gifts and his development as a passer, playmaker, and defender, Mitchell never averaged 10+ points per game in college and was heavily reliant on screening, cutting, and playing out of the dunker spot.

Mitchell could be the Celtics' Josh Hart

And this isn’t really a case of a guy who can possibly develop a shot down the right. He’s almost 23 years old, and this has been the knock on Mitchell since high school. In his entire four-year college career, he attempted just 57 threes and hit only 11. You’re not going to get any glimmer of hope from his shooting mechanics, either, as he hit just 48.8% of his free throws in college.

Still, there is so much to like about Mitchell that he’s well worth a stab at 40th overall. Just look at the impact we’ve seen from guys like the Thompson twins, Josh Hart, and others in that mold. It’s hard to make it work without a jumper, but it’s not impossible.

It just means you have to check an awful lot of other boxes, and that’s exactly what Mitchell has done everywhere he’s gone. He’s a mid-second round pick, so the odds are that he’ll never have a huge role. But Stevens and the Celtics have lived in this range, and their development team has produced a lot of NBA talent. Don’t bet against Mitchell to keep that trend going.

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