What the Celtics are getting in second-round pick Dillon Mitchell

Last season, the Celtics had three second-round picks play at least 68 games: Jordan Walsh, Neemias Queta, and Luka Garza.

The NBA champion New York Knicks had four second-rounders in their postseason rotation, including Jordan Clarkson, Miles McBride, Mitchell Robinson, and Eastern Conference and NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson.

The introduction of NIL has thinned out the NBA Draft pool, particularly among underclassmen, as many players can earn more money by staying in college than they would as a late first-round or second-round pick. But that doesn’t mean impact players aren’t still available outside the lottery. There are plenty of recent examples of organizations finding meaningful contributors well beyond the first round.

The Celtics are hoping Dillon Mitchell could be one of those success stories.

Boston selected the forward out of St. John’s with the 40th overall pick on Wednesday night, a call that was made into the league by newly hired scout Isaiah Thomas.

A four-year college player, the 22-year-old spent his first two seasons at Texas before transferring to Cincinnati for one year and finishing his collegiate career with the Red Storm.

Listed at 6-foot-8, 210 pounds with a 6-foot-10.5 wingspan, Mitchell averaged 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting 55.9% from the field across 37 games (25 starts) last season. The Tampa native earned All-Big East Third Team, Big East All-Defensive Team, and All-Big East Tournament Team honors while helping lead St. John’s to a 30-7 record and a Big East Tournament championship.

“We’ve been watching Dillon for a long time. I first saw him, there was a game Gonzaga was at Texas, and I went down to that game to scout him and some other people in that game,” Celtics Vice President of Basketball Operations Mike Zarren recalled. “Instantly, Dillon’s leaping ability almost quite literally jumped off the court. He was really raw back then, but his athleticism stood out. It took him a few years to sort of grow from there.

We followed him another year at Texas, and then Cincinnati, and then this past year at St. John’s. I don’t know if you guys know the coach there [Rick Pitino], but he can really coach, and I think Dylan sort of found more purpose there. He became one of the best perimeter defenders in college basketball. He’s long, he can move. And then the other thing we noticed this year that really grew was his passing skills on offense. He’s still a prospect. He’s got some work to do. But man, his athleticism and leaping abilities are really, really impressive, in addition to his defensive instincts. He’s got a hell of a future ahead of him.”

Mitchell is a high-level defender who can guard multiple positions and brings great athleticism and a high motor. He rebounds at a high level and is also a strong offensive connector and screener.

His shooting, though, needs work. He shot just 1-of-15 from three-point range last season and 11-of-57 (19.3%) across his collegiate career. At the free-throw line, he shot 43-of-87 (49.4%) last season and 140-of-287 (48.8%) for his career. His offense comes almost exclusively at the rim.

“He can be successful, even when he’s not shooting the ball. But he’ll get better at his shot,” Zarren said. “We don’t have any doubt about that. If you watch enough, you’ll see he’s got the ability to get better there. So, like any young player, there are things to work on. That’s one for him, but we’re really excited about Dillon.”

The tools are there. He defends at an NBA level and has the athleticism and feel for the game to give him a shot at the professional level. The shooting, however, is a significant question mark, especially for a non-big.

Nonetheless, the Celtics are excited about what Mitchell can bring, so much so that they considered moving up to get him.

“We actually were thinking about moving up to get Dylan, and it sort of became clear over time that we thought he’d get to us, so we didn’t have to do that,” said Zarren. “It was exciting that he was there for us at 40.”