‘Glaring absences’ define Boston Celtics Summer League team in Las Vegas
While there will be exciting debuts during the Boston Celtics’ upcoming 2023 Summer League run in Las Vegas, including the C’s 2023 second-round pick Jordan Walsh (Arkansas) and undrafted six-foot-seven guard signing Sam Griesel (Nebraska), there will also be several players conspicuous by their absences including 2022-23 two-way contract-holder Mfiondu Kabengele, and 2020 and 2021 second-round picks Yam Madar and Juhann Begarin, respectively.
As CelticsBlog’s Bill Sy notes, their absences will be “glaring.”
“There are some glaring absences,” Sy prefaced before saying, “Mfiondu Kabengele shined on The Strip and earned a two-way deal last year, but won’t be with the Celtics next week. Also, Boston’s two draft-and-stash players, Yam Madar and Juhann Begarin, aren’t making the trip stateside of the summer showcase.”
Yam Madar could still be with the Boston Celtics during training camp
Madar’s case is an interesting one since it was former Boston Celtics general manager and current Utah Jazz President Danny Ainge who drafted the Israeli guard. Of course, Brad Stevens would’ve been his coach, but it’s unknown if the current Celtics President of Basketball Operations has a vision for Madar’s future in the same way Ainge did.
Perhaps there is, though. The Athletic’s Jared Weiss reported that there’s still a chance that Madar is with the team come training camp and the preseason.
“Israeli point guard Yam Madar, 22, could still arrive for training camp after his international duties this summer,” Weiss wrote. “Boston has room on the back end of its roster for a point guard with good pace control and vision like Madar, though he still has a lot of development both in his skills and physicality to be ready for the NBA.”
It’s been two and a half years since Madar was drafted, and he was part of the team’s Las Vegas Summer League roster in 2021 but he pulled out of the 2022 team following a previous commitment to play.
If Malcolm Brogdon and/or Payton Pritchard are traded this offseason, the possibility of Madar coming stateside would be more likely. Otherwise, he, like the recently-traded Danilo Gallinari, may never be given the chance to rep the green.