thunder guard Ajay Mitchell underwent surgery to treat a turf toe sprain in the big toe of his right foot, the team said announced this in a press release today.
According to the Thunder, the plan is to re-evaluate Mitchell in approximately 10 to 12 weeks. That means he's likely to be sidelined until at least the end of March and possibly beyond.
The 38th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Mitchell was one of the most impressive players in this season's rookie class. He was an integral part of the West-leading Thunder's rotation team, appearing in the team's first 34 games of the season and playing an average of 16.5 minutes per night. He missed the last two games due to a toe injury, which Oklahoma City initially described as a sprain.
The 22-year-old shooting guard posted 6.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest with an outstanding shooting line of .506/.431/.848.
Mitchell was considered a strong candidate to be upgraded from his two-way contract to a standard contract at some point this season. That's still a possibility, but the urgency for the Thunder to make a move will be less by the end of the season now that the UC Santa Barbara alum is no longer in danger of hitting his NBA limit of 50 games in February or March.
The Thunder would have to promote Mitchell to the 15-man roster to make him eligible for the postseason.
