Everybody said the same thing when the Boston Celtics drafted Dillon Mitchell with the 40th pick last month: he is super athletic and can play great defense, but he can't throw a pebble in the ocean.
In four collegiate seasons, Mitchell shot 11-for-57 (19.3%) from deep. And during his lone season at St. John's last year, he shot 1-for-15 (.067%).
The idea was always that, if the Tampa native could become even somewhat of a reliable three-point shooter, he could be a long-term contributor in Boston. And based on how his last summer league showing went, it looks like things are trending in the right direction.
Dillon Mitchell's improved shot could make him a real asset in Boston
In just his second game of summer league play against the Charlotte Hornets, Mitchell shot 2-for-5 from deep.
Obviously, he's not the next Larry Bird (though that would be pretty cool, right?), and it admittedly is pretty funny that I'm celebrating a guy hitting two threes in summer league, but this is very telling. Mitchell only hit one three in 37 games at St. John's. In just one game, he eclipsed that.
And on top of that, the 22-year-old scored a game-high 24 points on 10-for-20 shooting and recorded eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and six steals.
Mitchell looked extremely comfortable on both sides of the ball, and at times, he looked like the best player on the court. Granted, going up against Liam McNeeley, Christian Anderson, and Tidjane Salaun is different than going up against the best of the best in the league, but it says something that a second-round pick already looks this good (and seemingly already fixed his biggest weakness)
Dillon Mitchell still won't have a big role anytime soon
Even if he finishes summer league on a high note, it's tough to imagine Mitchell playing a big role with the Celtics right away. He's going to be behind Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Sam Hauser, Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, and Jordan Walsh on the depth chart, and until we know his improvements as a shooter are real, he's not going to be much of an offensive factor.
Instead, it's safe to assume that he will spend most of his rookie season working on his craft in the G League and maybe playing some real NBA in the case of injuries, during garbage time, or late into the season.
Still, there's a lot to like about Mitchell and what he could bring to Boston. There were already reasons to like the pick at the time, and based on what he is showing in summer league, there are actual reasons to think he could blossom into something special for years to come.
Add us as a preferred source on Google