Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Working through toe injury
Rotowire
Head coach Mark Daigneault said after Friday's 117-107 win over the Knicks that Mitchell sprained his toe during the second half of the contest, Nick Gallo of the Thunder's official site reports.
Mitchell exited at the 1:30 mark in the third quarter of Friday's game and did not return, finishing with eight points (3-6 FG, 2-2 FT) and one rebound across 13 minutes. The rookie second-round pick will have his toe injury evaluated Saturday before the Thunder determine his status for Sunday's game against the Celtics.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Notches 17 points
Rotowire
Mitchell ended Sunday's 130-106 win over the Grizzlies with 17 points (6-11 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 2-2 FT), one rebound, three assists and one steal in 22 minutes.
Despite moving back to the bench with Cason Wallace (quadriceps) and Luguentz Dort (ankle) back in the lineup, Mitchell responded with a season-high 17 points, though he was aided by some garbage time in the lopsided win. Mitchell is hard to trust outside of very deep formats when the Thunder are at full strength.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Back to bench Sunday
Rotowire
Mitchell is not in the Thunder's starting lineup against the Grizzlies on Sunday, Clemente Almanza of USA Today reports.
Mitchell made his first start of the regular season during Saturday's 106-94 win over the Hornets, and he finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists over 32 minutes. He will revert to a reserve role Sunday due to the return of Cason Wallace (quadriceps) and Luguentz Dort (ankle).
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Promoted to starting role
Rotowire
Mitchell is in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Hornets.
The Thunder will be missing two key contributors in Cason Wallace (quadriceps) and Luguentz Dort (ankle), so Mitchell will move into a starting role on the wing. He'll start alongside Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, Aaron Wiggins, Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein. This will be Mitchell's first start of the campaign. He's averaging 6.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game across 14.1 minutes per game off the bench in December.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Erupts off bench
Rotowire
Mitchell ended Monday's 123-105 victory over the Wizards with 16 points (6-7 FG, 2-3 3Pt, 2-3 FT), 12 rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in 22 minutes.
Mitchell posted career-high marks in points (16) and rebounds (12), taking advantage of some garbage time during the win. Fantasy managers won't want to overreact to this outlier, as Mitchell has averaged just 13.9 minutes through 10 December contests.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Plays reduced role in win
Rotowire
Mitchell provided two points (1-3 FG), one rebound, two assists and one steal over 10 minutes during Tuesday's 118-104 win over Dallas.
Mitchell logged just 10 minutes after averaging 18.3 minutes per game in each of the three previous appearances. Despite appearing in every game thus far, Mitchell has served up modest averages of just 5.6 points, 1.7 assists and 0.9 steals in 16.0 minutes per game.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Solid contribution off bench
Rotowire
Mitchell posted 12 points (5-6 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 1-1 FT), two rebounds, seven assists and three steals in 20 minutes during Friday's 126-107 victory over Houston.
Mitchell matched his best scoring total of the season in the win. Oklahoma City's 2024 second-round prospect has appeared in every game but is averaging only 13.9 minutes over nine contests. Unless an injury bolsters his spot on the depth chart, his fantasy viability is limited.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Returns to practice
Rotowire
Mitchell was a full participant in Saturday's practice, Clemente Almanza of USA Today reports.
Mitchell missed the Thunder's previous preseason contest due to an ankle injury but appears to have fully recovered. The rookie guard should be available for Tuesday's preseason matchup with Denver.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Racks up team-high 19 points Monday
Rotowire
Mitchell notched 19 points (8-13 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 2-4 FT), two rebounds, two assists and one steal across 24 minutes during Monday's 112-107 preseason win over the Spurs.
Mitchell exploded for a team-high 19 points while coming off the bench. The No. 38 overall pick of the 2024 Draft was a scoring machine in his final season with UC Santa Barbara, during which he averaged 20.0 points while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from beyond the arc. Mitchell will likely struggle to find significant playing time among a stacked Thunder backcourt, but he is expected to spend some time in the G League to further develop under a two-way pact.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Paces scoring attack
Rotowire
Mitchell totaled 21 points (8-14 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 4-4 FT), two rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 25 minutes during Monday's 102-73 Summer League loss to the Heat.
Mitchell was one of the lone bright spots in a blowout loss, leading the team in scoring by knocking down 57.1 percent of his tries from the field. It was nice to see the 22-year-old bounce back following a 6-for-18 shooting performance from the field Saturday against Toronto.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Signs two-way contract with OKC
Rotowire
The Thunder signed Mitchell to a two-way contract Saturday.
The No. 38 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Mitchell will occupy one of the Thunder's three two-way spots during his first professional season. The 22-year-old guard was a standout performer In his final collegiate season with UC Santa Barbara in 2023-24, averaging 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from downtown. Since he's unlikely to factor into the Thunder's rotation plans as a rookie, Mitchell will likely wind up seeing the majority of his playing time in 2024-25 with the G League's Oklahoma City Blue.
