The NBA champion Boston Celtics are signing Cleveland State forward Tristan Enaruna to an Exhibit 10 contract, as first reported by Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com.
Enaruna will join the Celtics for the NBA Summer League, which tips off July 12 in Las Vegas. He’s also a strong candidate to join the Celtics’ G League affiliate in Maine.
Enuara is 6-foot-8 and was named MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational for college seniors ahead of the NBA Draft.
His college career began at Kansas, before transferring to Iowa State, and then to Cleveland State in 2022.
Enaruna spent his first two college seasons at Kansas from 2019-21 before transferring to Iowa State for 2021/22 and then to Cleveland State for 2022-24. He averaged 19.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 35 games with the Vikings as a senior this past season, earning All-Horizon League first-team honors for the second straight year.
An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal. It doesn’t count toward a team’s cap unless the player makes the final roster. It also can be converted to a two-way deal before the season begins or mean guaranteed money if a player is waived and then stays on the G League club for at least 60 days.
Free agent contracts for the 2024-25 season can’t be signed until July, so Enaruna’s deal with the Celtics is tentative for the time being.
“The fifth-year senior has a great combination of skill, size, length and mobility for a power forward,” wrote Isaac Condra of SI.com. “It’s clear he has the versatility and talent to play in the NBA. Sometimes playing at a high major school isn’t what’s best for a player. With Enaruna transferring down to a mid-major he was able to develop his on-ball skills and become more comfortable and confident with the ball in his hands.”
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