Charlotte Hornets NBA Draft Profile: Matt Mitchell

The Charlotte Hornets own their own first-round pick (11) and are owed second-round picks from the Brooklyn Nets (57) and the Los Angeles Clippers (56). Over the next couple of months, leading up to the 2021 NBA Draft, Swarm & Sting will take a look at prospects hoping to hear their name called on draft night.

Matt Mitchell had a very good run during his four-year college experience at San Diego State and he is now approaching the NBA with a handful of question marks.

Age: 22

Height: 6’6”

Weight: 239

College Stats/Awards

During the 2020-21 season, Mitchell was awarded the 2021 MWC Player of the Year after he was selected in the All-MWC team twice in the two years prior. In his four years at SDSU, Mitchell won the MWC tournament twice, the first time in 2018 and last season while being the go-to guy on the team. His season ended averaging 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game.

Primary Strengths

Mitchell’s most intriguing trait is related to his offensive versatility. At SDSU he was asked to be some sort of a primary initiator, and he often had a lot of responsibilities in organizing team offense. Results were fine in this regard but for a player with his size, this could be an interesting point from where an NBA team could start a development project. In addition to this, he was a solid three-point shooter, which allows him to be versatile in almost every type of system in the NBA.

As a defender, Mitchell is a smart and consistent team player that shouldn’t have any type of problem during his professional career. His size could allow him to be a hard player to attack in different situations especially against the majority of small forwards in the NBA.

Primary Weaknesses

While having to be a ball-handler, Mitchell was not able to put pressure on the rim at all and this is related to two problems. The first one is his ball-handling ability which is not great at the moment which prevents him from attacking tight defenses. The latter is related to his overall quickness, his first step was not enough to drive by players even at the college level. These two elements will not allow him to replicate the success he had at SDSU in the NBA. Mitchell will need to re-shape his offensive game to carve out a clear role in the league.

Lack of quickness is a problem on the defensive end too as Mitchell was not always able to contain opposite penetration. As long as his size allowed him to body up opponents, he was fine, but against quicker players, he was not effective at all.

Draft Projection

Mitchell’s projection is still unclear as he is not a stable presence in most expert mock drafts. He could go in the latter part of the second round or he could be an option as an undrafted free agent for a team that believes in his potential.

After being selected for the G-League Elite camp last month he was not called to take part at the NBA combine and this hurt his draft stock quite a bit. With projection still uncertain the Hornets should keep his name on the radar.

The 2021 NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, July 29 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft will be televised on ABC (first-round only) and ESPN.