Celtics Sign Malik Fitts to Partially Guaranteed Contract

The NBA’s new 10-day hardship contracts have proven to be a successful way for fringe players across the league to try out for full-time contracts.

On Tuesday, another player officially signed to a 10-day contract impressed his team enough to be awarded a full-time gig in the NBA.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Boston Celtics signed Malik Fitts to a partially guaranteed contract through the 2022-23 season.

Fitts has been with the Celtics for two 10-day contracts, and despite only playing in two games, he’s impressed enough to earn his way onto the Celtics roster full-time. So far this year, Fitts has played in nine games, seven with the Utah Jazz and two with the Celtics, and has scored six points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

This is Fitts’ second year in the NBA after signing with the Los Angeles Clippers as an undrafted free agent out of Saint Mary’s, where he averaged 16.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in his final season with the Gaels.

Fitts joins an ever-growing list of players who have converted 10-day contracts into full-time roster spots. Some of the names who have capitalized on these opportunities include DeMarcus Cousins, Haywood Highsmith, and Lance Stephenson.

The Celtics are in the midst of a fight at the top of the Eastern Conference, currently in fifth with a record of 41-28, but just 4.5 games back of the first-place Miami Heat (46-24).

Fitts and the Celtics will have a chance to go again on Wednesday night when they hit the road to take on the Golden State Warriors (47-22).