Raptors Set to Give Young Guard Another Chance Following Buy-Low Trade

The Toronto Raptors are looking to tap into Davion Mitchell's potential following the organization's buy-low deal with the Sacramento Kings

Mar 31, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell (15) dribbles against the Utah Jazz during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

There’s a reason Davion Mitchell’s nickname coming out of Baylor was ‘off-night.’

The 6-foot point guard earned every defensive award in college and entered the 2021 NBA draft as one of the premiere defensive players in the class. At the time, he was coming off a national championship season and had just slowed down just about every offensive star he faced. It’s why the Sacramento Kings took him with the No. 9 pick that year, five picks after the Toronto Raptors selected Scottie Barnes.

But three years later, Mitchell’s career hasn’t quite gone as planned.

The 25-year-old has seen his playing time progressively decrease season by season and he was briefly evicted from Sacramento’s rotation last year. It wasn’t until a slew of injuries to Kings guards forced Mitchell back into regular playing time that some of his untapped potential began to shine through.

Now Mitchell is looking for a second chance.

Toronto acquired the former Baylor standout in a salary-dump deal with the Kings who parted ways with Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov, and two second-round picks to save roughly $8 million and dip below the luxury tax threshold this summer.

From a cursory look, Mitchell’s impact on Sacramento’s defense was evident last season. The Kings were 1.2 points per 100 possessions stingier with Mitchell on the floor compared to when he sat and that’s generally been the case throughout his brief NBA career.

But underlying those numbers is a picture that’s a murkier.

Mitchell grades out as a below-average defender on most catch-all advanced defensive statistics. Dunks & Threes, for example, has him with a -1.3 rating, on par with Kevin Huerter and Luke Kennard. BBall-Index has Mitchell in the 22nd percentile defensively, slightly worse than Tyler Herro and Austin Reaves. CraftedNBA’s also has Mitchell as a below-average defender who ranks out comparably to Kelly Oubre Jr. and worse than Obi Toppin.

Toronto’s hope is that changes moving forward.

Mitchell has the toughness and quickness to be a very good on-ball defender. His lack of size means he doesn’t have the versatility to switch across positions very well, but Toronto has lacked an impactful on-ball point-of-attack defender for years now and Mitchell should help the Raptors in that respect.

Offensively, Mitchell has work to do.

He shot a career best 36.1% from three-point range last season after being a below-average three-point shooter earlier in his career. Most of that came thanks to his 37.2% stroke on catch-and-shoot threes which jumped to 42.1% once Mitchell recaptured his rotation spot over the final 41 games of the season.

Other than his improved three-point shooting, there’s not a ton to get excited about. He averaged just 12.4 points and 4.4 assists per 36 minutes last season. Those numbers should grow as Mitchell slides into a new role as Toronto’s primary ball-handler off the bench next season, but Mitchell has a long way to go to be an impactful offensive weapon.

“By the 2023-24 trade deadline I was ready for Mitchell to be moved, but toward the end of the season he showed a lot more promise and looked closer to what his potential in the league actually is,” said Logan Struck who covers the Kings for Inside the Kings. “I’m not sure if his ceiling on offense is very high but he should be able to stay in the league for years to come solely based on his defensive intensity.”

For Toronto, Mitchell represents a low-cost opportunity to give a second chance to a prospect once thought to have high-end potential. He may never develop into the Jrue Holiday-type of defender some draft prognosticators once thought Mitchell could become, but Toronto’s lack of depth behind Immanuel Quickley should result in Mitchell seeing plenty of playing time next season.

After that, Mitchell’s future is up in the air. He’s in the final year of his rookie contract and remains without an extension for now. It’s unlikely he ever becomes a starting quality point guard, but buying low on a feisty defender is a move with intriguing upside for Toronto who continues to build out its young depth around Barnes, Quickley, and the rest of this Raptors core.