Overview
- The Boston Celtics announced a two-way contract for Dillon Mitchell on Wednesday, ending the option for him to use the federal injunction to return to college as a Class of 2022 senior.
- A U.S. District judge in Colorado had issued a preliminary injunction giving 2022 high-school graduates a fifth year of NCAA eligibility, which prompted reports that Mitchell might return to St. John’s while he remained unsigned.
- Under NBA rules, an unsigned draftee who returns to college could force teams to use a required tender by early September to keep exclusive negotiating rights through the season and still risk the player re-entering the next draft.
- Mitchell’s Summer League performance and Big East defensive honors raised his market value, but the two-way deal offers roughly $678,882 this season compared with potential New York City NIL opportunities that could equal or exceed that amount.
- The signing removes one high-profile case from a wider set of 2026 unsigned draftees affected by the injunction, but the NCAA has appealed the ruling so eligibility rules and roster strategies remain legally and administratively unsettled.