Benas Matkevicius has been the international scout for the Boston Celtics going on his ninth year with the historic franchise.

On the latest episode of View From The Rafters Podcast, Matkevicius shared an update on the Celtics’ two draft-and-stash international players in Yam Madar (Partizan) and Juhann Begarin (Paris).

Here’s what he said about Madar, who was a bit raw and undersized the last time he was with the Celtics in 2021 Summer League.

“Yam has a really important defensive role. He’s always pressuring the ball and providing the team with energy.”

It was great to hear an update on Begarin, who has great NBA size and just needed to sharpen his game a bit. We saw a huge improvement in his overall game from year one to year two in the Sunmer League.

“He’s made a jump forward with his confidence. On defense, how much energy he provides on the passing lanes, he’s just playing with so much more authority than he was before.”

Who knows what is to become of these players and their futures in Boston. I do believe Brad Stevens is very intrigued by both players and will look to make a final evaluation on them soon.

If I had to guess, I’d expect Begarin to be with Boston longer than Madar, and perhaps bring him over next season, as he was close to doing so this season.

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