Gary Washburn: Luke Kornet (personal reasons) is not with the #Celtics in Memphis. Mfiondu Kabengele is with the club from G League Maine.
Mfiondu Kabengele Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: F
Born: 08/14/97
Height: 6-9 / 2.06
Weight:250 lbs. / 113.4 kg.
Salary: $508,891
Scouting report
Born: 08/14/97
Height: 6-9 / 2.06
Weight:250 lbs. / 113.4 kg.
Salary: $508,891
Scouting report
Brown took an interest in Kabengele after the 25-year-old big, who is fighting for a rotation spot, started coming to him early on for advice in training camp. Though Kabengele is just a two-way player hoping for some second-unit minutes, he wanted to learn how to do his job as if he was the starting center. “I asked him a lot about pick-and-roll angles, how I should roll and what I should look for,” Kabengele said. “It is a little selfish, but I want to roll so I can be a threat as well. I know that (Jayson Tatum) and Jaylen, they’re that “guy” and you got to respect what they do. So I’ll ask Jaylen how can I be a threat when I’m setting screens. … He told me tips and tricks on how to angle it, how I should roll, things to look for before I set a pick.”
But Kabengele feels he’s finally found the right path. “I’m not the same person I was in my rookie year, or even last year when I was in the G League,” he said. “A lot of times, I would come into games and practices and think, ‘All right, I have a skill set.’ It was a little bit of arrogance I had. It wasn’t laziness, but I had a good sense of what I needed, then every time I fail and go through these things, I’m like, ‘Why are things not working?’ Then I did some self-reflection.”
“When I got drafted, and I was in a league, I settled.” Kabengele admitted to BostonSportsJournal.com. “So I’m like, I can just go to the gym and go home, you know? Just go to the gym and go home.” Kabengele is candid about the trappings of just making it into the NBA admitting that “I felt like I made it, I can settle in.” But things flipped quickly for him. The Clippers moved him to Sacramento, which promptly cut him. He was signed and cut by the Cavs and Rockets, the latter using the camp cut to assign him to the G League Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
John Karalis: Mfiondu Kabengele didn’t realize he dapped up a referee who was looking for the ball after his diving play. “The ref? I was so locked in I didn’t realize that. I just saw hands and I dapped him up, for sure … apologies sir”
The Boston Celtics are preparing to hold an open competition for their final roster spots at training camp next month, league sources told The Athletic. The Celtics’ roster currently has 12 players on guaranteed NBA contracts (including Al Horford, whose deal is mostly guaranteed), plus two more players (Mfiondu Kabengele and JD Davison) on two-way deals.
17 Jul 22
