Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Tallies nine points in return
Rotowire
Mitchell (toe) recorded nine points (4-8 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 1-2 FT), five assists and one steal across 18 minutes in Friday's 145-111 win over the Jazz.
Suiting up for the first time since Jan. 3 after a lengthy recovery from surgery to address a right big toe sprain, Mitchell ended up taking on a decent-sized role off the bench while the Thunder held out seven rotation players with what appear to be minor injuries. With Oklahoma City having already clinched the league's best record, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (shin), Jalen Williams (hip), Cason Wallace (shoulder), Alex Caruso (ankle), Luguentz Dort (knee), Chet Holmgren (back) and Isaiah Hartenstein (Achilles) could all remain out for Sunday's regular-season finale versus the Pelicans, or at least have their minutes kept in check in advance of the playoffs. Mitchell could thus be in line for a similar or larger workload Sunday, though the rookie second-round pick won't be guaranteed a regular spot in the rotation during the postseason when the Thunder are at full strength.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Won't play against Phoenix
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Mitchell (toe) has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Suns.
Mitchell will miss a 46th consecutive game for the Thunder as he recovers from toe surgery. The next opportunity for him to return to the lineup will be Friday against the Jazz.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Ruled out for Tuesday
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Mitchell (toe) won't play Tuesday against the Lakers.
Mitchell hasn't take the court since Jan. 3 while on the mend from toe surgery. His next chance to suit up will arrive Wednesday in Phoenix.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Won't play vs. LAL
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Mitchell (toe) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Lakers.
Mitchell will miss a 44th consecutive game for the Thunder while recovering from toe surgery. The next chance for him to return to the floor for Oklahoma City will be Tuesday against the Lakers.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Remaining out for Friday
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Mitchell (toe) has been ruled out for Friday's game against the Rockets.
Mitchell hasn't played since Jan. 3 after undergoing a procedure to address the turf toe sprain in his right big toe. There's no clear timetable for the rookie second-round pick's return, though his next chance to feature will come Sunday against the Lakers.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Upgraded to two-year deal
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The Thunder converted Mitchell (toe) from a two-way contract to a standard two-year contract Thursday, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.
Mitchell has been sidelined since early January after suffering a turf toe sprain of his right big toe and undergoing surgery. Though he's not expected to return until late in the regular season if not the playoffs, Mitchell displayed enough promise while he was healthy and playing on a two-way deal for the Thunder to upgrade him to a spot on the 15-man roster. The transaction will make Mitchell eligible to play in the playoffs once healthy, but he's unlikely to be in store for major minutes while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is healthy. The 22-year-old rookie had averaged 6.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 16.5 minutes per game over 34 games prior to going down with the injury.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Facing long-term absence
Rotowire
The Thunder announced Friday that Mitchell underwent a successful procedure to address a turf toe sprain in his right big toe. Mitchell will be re-evaluated in 10-to-12 weeks.
The injury comes at a tough time for Mitchell, who was expected to be upgraded from a two-way contract to a standard NBA deal after the Thunder waived center Branden Carlson earlier this week. However, in the wake of Mitchell's injury, the Thunder have since re-signed Carlson to a 10-day deal to fill the open spot on the 15-man roster. A rookie second-round draft pick, Mitchell has been a mainstay in the Thunder rotation this season, averaging 6.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 16.4 minutes while shooting 50.6 percent from the field over 34 appearances (one start). Given the timeline provided by the team, Mitchell will likely be sidelined until late March or early April, and it wouldn't be surprising if he remained out through the end of the regular season.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Ruled out for Sunday
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Mitchell (toe) will not play Sunday against Boston.
Mitchell exited at the 1:30 mark in the third quarter of Friday's game and did not return, and he was later diagnosed with a toe sprain. It's not a good sign that he's being ruled out a day in advance, so he should be considered questionable at best for Wednesday's game against the Cavaliers.
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Thunder's Ajay Mitchell: Working through toe injury
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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: Returns to practice
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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
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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
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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
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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.
