Celtics sign big man Mfiondu Kabengele to two-way contract
Kabengele, a former first-round pick, averaged 14 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in Summer League.
Mfiondu Kabengele pieced together a standout performance at Summer League, and it appears the Celtics liked what they saw from the 6-foot-10 big man.
Kabengele, a 2019 first-round pick who starred at Florida State, signed a two-way contract as Boston wrapped up in Las Vegas on Saturday.
He averaged 14 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 blocks while shooting 55.9 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from 3-point range, and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line for the 3-2 Celtics. Kabengele looked comfortable, showed off his versatility, and was consistently one of the best players on the floor.
The Toronto native has appeared in a total of 51 NBA games, split between the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers. He played in 33 games for the NBA G-League Champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers last season, where he averaged 17.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.
Kabengele is eager to learn from the frontcourt players currently on the roster, including veteran Al Horford.
“The first day when I see Al, I’m going to be like, ‘Hey, can I get your number? Let’s do lunch. How do you do what you do? Because you’re really good at it,'” Kabengele said, via Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
After this move, the Celtics have 12 players signed to standard contracts and have filled both two-way slots. They have three open standard spots on the regular season roster.
It’s likely at least one of those players will be another big man, but it’s certainly possible Kabengele will earn some playing time whenever he’s in Boston. He should put up major numbers when he’s with the Maine Celtics.
“I think my main goal is to work on my skill and my craft, and whatever manifests out of that I’ll be happy with,” he said. “I don’t want to put a bar on anything. So if Boston likes what I do and I continue to progress, hopefully something happens. And I’m going to keep working on my game.”
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