One thing the Boston Celtics have rarely stopped believing in is their own development system. Year after year, the franchise has turned overlooked draft picks and undrafted talent into dependable NBA contributors. Sam Hauser went from undrafted to one of the NBA’s most reliable three-point shooters. Neemias Queta turned a two-way opportunity into a standard NBA contract. Jordan Walsh is still working through that same development pipeline. Dillon Mitchell looked like the next name on the list.

Early signs suggested he already was. Drafted 40th overall in June, Mitchell arrived in Las Vegas with questions about his offensive game but soon began answering them. The 22-year-old averaged 13 points and five rebounds while shooting 47.2% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc in Summer League. In one game alone, he buried more three-pointers than he had during his entire final season at St. John’s. Just as Boston appeared to have uncovered another promising project, an unexpected NCAA ruling changed the conversation.

College basketball’s eligibility rules shifted this summer to an age-based model, giving athletes a five-year window to play out five seasons rather than tying eligibility strictly to years enrolled. The change was approved in June and took effect August 1, but in doing so, it left the 2022 high school class, whose college clocks had already run out under the old system, with no path to a fifth year. That’s where Mitchell’s class got caught.

A group of players argued the NCAA was letting players who’d spent a year in a pro league return for a fifth season while shutting out seniors who’d stayed four years in school. A U.S. District Court judge in Colorado, Charlotte Sweeney, granted a preliminary injunction siding with them, ruling that “plaintiffs have met their burden at every step” and were entitled to the relief they sought. That ruling gave Mitchell another choice. And so….

After completing four seasons of college basketball, he is now eligible to return for a fifth year. “Dillon Mitchell returning to St. John’s is being considered, per source,” tweeted Basketball Insider Adam Zagoria. “I’m told they have one roster spot available and have also been in contact with Keyshawn Hall.”

If Mitchell chooses another season at St. John’s, the Celtics would not automatically maintain control of his NBA rights.

According to NBA rules, Section 4. Negotiating Rights to Draft Rookies, “If a Team has made a Required Tender to such a player and the player has not signed a Player Contract within the period between the Initial Draft and the Subsequent Draft, the Team that drafted the player shall lose its exclusive right to negotiate with the player and the player will then be eligible for selection in the Subsequent Draft.”

Celtics reporter Bobby Manning explained that Boston’s ability to retain Mitchell’s rights depends on issuing a required tender offer by Sept. 5 if the rookie returns to St. John’s. Even after receiving the offer, Mitchell could decline and enter the 2027 NBA Draft.

The Celtics must now decide whether to protect their rights to a promising prospect while allowing him another year of development. If managed correctly, the situation could resemble a draft-and-stash approach, with Boston keeping a path open for Mitchell’s eventual NBA arrival.

A return to college could actually give the Celtics more roster flexibility. Instead of immediately using a roster spot on Mitchell, Boston could evaluate other young players during training camp. Players such as Tucker DeVries and Milos Uzan have already received Exhibit 10 contracts during Summer League.

An Exhibit 10 deal is a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary contract that can be converted into a two-way contract before the regular season. For Mitchell, another year in college would provide an opportunity to improve his shooting consistency, offensive creation, and overall skill set. However, the situation is not as simple as it appears.

Leaving the NBA doesn’t guarantee Dillon Mitchell a spot at St. John’s

Mitchell was one of the most important players for the Red Storm last season. After transferring from Texas and Cincinnati, the 6-foot-8 forward quickly became a key part of a talented frontcourt alongside Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins.

He averaged 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while shooting 55.9% from the field. Defensively, Mitchell earned Big East All-Defense recognition after averaging 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game for a KenPom top-15 defensive team.

As the 22-year-old prepared for life in the NBA, St. John’s had originally planned for Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman to replace Mitchell at power forward. However, Freeman’s season-ending Achilles injury changed those plans, potentially opening the door for Mitchell’s return, this time as a potential frontcourt pairing with returning big man Ruben Prey.

But the Red Storm are also keeping an eye on Keyshawn Hall, an All-SEC selection who has drawn interest from programs such as Houston and USC. The former Auburn Tigers forward could become another option for St. John’s as the team evaluates its frontcourt situation.

Mitchell wouldn’t be the only familiar face reconsidering a return, either. Former St. John’s guard Oziyah Sellers, who signed a Summer League deal with the Knicks but never inked an NBA contract, has already entered the transfer portal, one of hundreds of seniors around the country doing the same about-face since the Colorado ruling landed.

A longer runway than the draft profile suggested

Mitchell’s college career was built on more than one strong season in Queens. He arrived as a consensus five-star recruit out of the 2022 high school class, finishing fourth in the ESPN Top 100 and drawing invites to both the McDonald’s All-America Game and the Jordan Brand Classic after leading Montverde Academy to a GEICO national high school title. He spent two seasons at Texas, including an Elite Eight run as a freshman, and a year at Cincinnati before landing at St. John’s, finishing his four-year college run with 903 rebounds, a number that ranked 11th among active Division I players at the time he graduated.

The shooting split tells its own story about what the Celtics are banking on. Over four college seasons, Mitchell made 62.2% of his shots inside the arc but just 11 of 57 three-point attempts (19.3%), and he’s a 48% career free-throw shooter, which is what made his 37.5% clip from deep in Las Vegas notable enough to change the calculus in the first place.

Boston’s front office has been tracking him for a while. Celtics VP of Basketball Operations Mike Zarren said he first saw Mitchell play in person during a freshman-year game at Texas, when the forward “almost quite literally jumped off the court.” The pick itself carried a bit of franchise symbolism, too; former Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas, back with the organization in a scouting role, called Boston’s second-round selection into the league office on draft night.

The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, evaluating Mitchell as a prospect, put it simply: “His motor doesn’t quit.”

For now, Mitchell’s career remains at a crossroads due to the unusual NCAA ruling, putting added pressure on both the Celtics and St. John’s to determine the best path forward. And with the NCAA already signaling it plans to keep fighting the eligibility rulings in court, Mitchell’s decision may not even be the last word, the ground he’s deciding on could still shift again before the season starts.