Romeo Langford(merged threads)

[Sophomore]

Watching the Summer League games we discovered the rookies played better than most of us had anticipated. Even a couple of the invitees looked like keepers. One attribute they all shared was that they played basketball 3 or more years after high school. This experience showed in their court awareness, shooting acumen, passing, defense and overall team play.

In contrast, Romeo is one year removed from high school. He played much of his freshman year in college with a torn ligament in his thumb which may have affected his shooting and other aspects of his game. We don't know how well he would have progressed had he not been injured. But, we do know something about his pluses and minuses from watching pre-draft videos, reading personal accounts/evaluations and from other media venues. 

We learned Romeo's a very good scorer, a solid rebounder and a decent defender. On the other hand, we find that his outside shooting is suspect, he gets lackadaisical and doesn't always have solid court awareness. His basketball acumen and hustle will likely improve with experience - provided he's hungry enough.   

My guess is, even if his thumb heals 100%,  he'll be behind his teammates on the depth chart because of this inexperience. I doubt he'll get much playing time.

Does anyone feel differently? Is there any realistic expectation he'll be able to contribute this year? Or, is he more more likely to spend much of his time in the G-League or riding the end of the bench?

I don't think we can say at this point that Romeo will be behind the other young guys. Summer league play means almost nothing. Teams use summer league to give their young guys a little run and a chance to work on some specific parts of their game. For fringe players it's a chance to get a camp invite. A handful of summer league games does not give anyone a meaningful edge, what happens in camp and preseason is infinitely more important.

I agree that missing SL isn’t a huge deal, but the hand injury probably is a bigger deal. I don’t think he’s been involved in any activities where he could take contact. Not sure how much longer that lasts. Plus they’re rebuilding his shot, which is probably going to take some time.

[Ogaju]

Watching the Summer League games we discovered the rookies played better than most of us had anticipated. Even a couple of the invitees looked like keepers. One attribute they all shared was that they played basketball 3 or more years after high school. This experience showed in their court awareness, shooting acumen, passing, defense and overall team play.

In contrast, Romeo is one year removed from high school. He played much of his freshman year in college with a torn ligament in his thumb which may have affected his shooting and other aspects of his game. We don't know how well he would have progressed had he not been injured. But, we do know something about his pluses and minuses from watching pre-draft videos, reading personal accounts/evaluations and from other media venues. 

We learned Romeo's a very good scorer, a solid rebounder and a decent defender. On the other hand, we find that his outside shooting is suspect, he gets lackadaisical and doesn't always have solid court awareness. His basketball acumen and hustle will likely improve with experience - provided he's hungry enough.   

My guess is, even if his thumb heals 100%,  he'll be behind his teammates on the depth chart because of this inexperience. I doubt he'll get much playing time.

Does anyone feel differently? Is there any realistic expectation he'll be able to contribute this year? Or, is he more more likely to spend much of his time in the G-League or riding the end of the bench?

I don't think we can say at this point that Romeo will be behind the other young guys. Summer league play means almost nothing. Teams use summer league to give their young guys a little run and a chance to work on some specific parts of their game. For fringe players it's a chance to get a camp invite. A handful of summer league games does not give anyone a meaningful edge, what happens in camp and preseason is infinitely more important.

I agree that missing SL isn’t a huge deal, but the hand injury probably is a bigger deal. I don’t think he’s been involved in any activities where he could take contact. Not sure how much longer that lasts. Plus they’re rebuilding his shot, which is probably going to take some time.

rebuilding his shot??? that sounds scary ..... dont mess with players' shots.

[ChillyWilly]

His shot is not broken and doesn't need to be rebuilt.

He needs a small tweak to take away a small flaw as he brings the ball up.

This is not uncommon many guys tweak some aspect of their stroke during their time in the NBA.

There are several things I'm more worried about for him. Like caring about playing defense, keeping his head in games, not being tunnel vision while driving the lanes.

[Sophomore]

His shot is not broken and doesn't need to be rebuilt.

He needs a small tweak to take away a small flaw as he brings the ball up.

This is not uncommon many guys tweak some aspect of their stroke during their time in the NBA.

There are several things I'm more worried about for him. Like caring about playing defense, keeping his head in games, not being tunnel vision while driving the lanes.

Im not advocating for changing his shot. It’s been reported that’s what they’re doing.

[rollie mass]

Like caring about defense and keeping his head in the game-he is playing with Marcus Smart,Jaylen Brown Not playing defense is not an option.
He will make mistakes of course and he is still a boy in terms of strength but his 6-11 wingspan will serve him well on defense.
The Celts aren't desperate but if he bails on defense he has a short stay as a Celtic.

[IDreamCeltics]

He's incredibly raw.  I expect him to ride the bench for the extent of his contract, maybe get some g-league minutes.  This is James Young 2.0

[rollie mass]

James Young couldn't get to the hoop .DID not finish with contact.This kid playe most of the season in pain and his team was NOT good.

[RPGenerate]

James Young couldn't get to the hoop .DID not finish with contact.This kid playe most of the season in pain and his team was NOT good.

I wouldn't bother. It's like talking to a brick wall.

[IDreamCeltics]

James Young couldn't get to the hoop .DID not finish with contact.This kid playe most of the season in pain and his team was NOT good.

Agreed, but being able to get to the hoop in college isn't guaranteed to translate to the NBA (look no farther than Marcus Smart for evidence of that). 

What concerns me most about this kid (outside his broken jumpshot) is the complete lack of fire he shows.  It's VERY James Young-ish.  I think the Celtics made some great picks this year - Langford just wasn't one of them.
 

[saltlover]

James Young couldn't get to the hoop .DID not finish with contact.This kid playe most of the season in pain and his team was NOT good.

Agreed, but being able to get to the hoop in college isn't guaranteed to translate to the NBA (look no farther than Marcus Smart for evidence of that). 

What concerns me most about this kid (outside his broken jumpshot) is the complete lack of fire he shows.  It's VERY James Young-ish.  I think the Celtics made some great picks this year - Langford just wasn't one of them.

Complete lack of fire?  The kid was a top 5-10 prospect and got significantly injured, such that it would ultimately require surgery that would sideline him for months.  How many prospects of that type have we seen shut it down quickly, get the surgery, and start prepping for the draft?  Plenty.  And I don’t begrudge those that do, but Langford played injured the entire year, and probably cost himself 5-8 spots in the draft because of it, for a team that wasn’t very good.  He could have pulled a Darius Garland, and entered the draft just looking good during one-on-zero workouts and his high school tape.  But instead he showed that in fact he does love competing in basketball, sacrificing his own numbers and reputation, playing through injury.

That’s not to say he can’t work on staying more engaged in the game when he’s away from the play, but to say he’s lacking competitive fire?  He clearly loves basketball in a way that I’m not sure James Young ever did.

[RockinRyA]

James Young couldn't get to the hoop .DID not finish with contact.This kid playe most of the season in pain and his team was NOT good.

Agreed, but being able to get to the hoop in college isn't guaranteed to translate to the NBA (look no farther than Marcus Smart for evidence of that). 

What concerns me most about this kid (outside his broken jumpshot) is the complete lack of fire he shows.  It's VERY James Young-ish.  I think the Celtics made some great picks this year - Langford just wasn't one of them.

Complete lack of fire?  The kid was a top 5-10 prospect and got significantly injured, such that it would ultimately require surgery that would sideline him for months.  How many prospects of that type have we seen shut it down quickly, get the surgery, and start prepping for the draft?  Plenty.  And I don’t begrudge those that do, but Langford played injured the entire year, and probably cost himself 5-8 spots in the draft because of it, for a team that wasn’t very good.  He could have pulled a Darius Garland, and entered the draft just looking good during one-on-zero workouts and his high school tape.  But instead he showed that in fact he does love competing in basketball, sacrificing his own numbers and reputation, playing through injury.

That’s not to say he can’t work on staying more engaged in the game when he’s away from the play, but to say he’s lacking competitive fire?  He clearly loves basketball in a way that I’m not sure James Young ever did.

They mostly base it on looks. If we have a rookie T-Mac playing for us they will certainly say he lacks fire.

[csfansince60s]

James Young couldn't get to the hoop .DID not finish with contact.This kid playe most of the season in pain and his team was NOT good.

Agreed, but being able to get to the hoop in college isn't guaranteed to translate to the NBA (look no farther than Marcus Smart for evidence of that). 

What concerns me most about this kid (outside his broken jumpshot) is the complete lack of fire he shows.  It's VERY James Young-ish.  I think the Celtics made some great picks this year - Langford just wasn't one of them.

Complete lack of fire?  The kid was a top 5-10 prospect and got significantly injured, such that it would ultimately require surgery that would sideline him for months.  How many prospects of that type have we seen shut it down quickly, get the surgery, and start prepping for the draft?  Plenty.  And I don’t begrudge those that do, but Langford played injured the entire year, and probably cost himself 5-8 spots in the draft because of it, for a team that wasn’t very good.  He could have pulled a Darius Garland, and entered the draft just looking good during one-on-zero workouts and his high school tape.  But instead he showed that in fact he does love competing in basketball, sacrificing his own numbers and reputation, playing through injury.

That’s not to say he can’t work on staying more engaged in the game when he’s away from the play, but to say he’s lacking competitive fire?  He clearly loves basketball in a way that I’m not sure James Young ever did.

They mostly base it on looks. If we have a rookie T-Mac playing for us they will certainly say he lacks fire.

I agree completely, but to many,  first impressions are hard to shake.

When Romeo got selected by the us On draft night, the first interview that he had, he either looked like he was stoned out of his mind and/or he wasn’t enthused at all. Either way, not a good look to a lot of people.

[rollie mass]

His father from a young age groomed him to be stoic..From one of many articles that i read.

[Vermont Green]

I just went back and looked at some of the you-tube video on him.  I don't see any catastrophic problem with his shot.  Drafting is a very inexact science.  Who knows how good he is going to be.  It would be foolish to declare him the next all star or whatever but I think equally foolish to give up on him already. 

He is 19 years old.  He will be barely 20 at the start of the season.  I don't expect much of him this season but I certainly feel he could be a good NBA player.  Look what Terry Rozier turned into and how much money he got.  Would it really be a shock if Langford turned out the be the next Rozier?

There are always plenty of James Youngs in every draft.  Langford could be one of them.  If he is, he won't be alone.

[Tr1boy]

I just went back and looked at some of the you-tube video on him.  I don't see any catastrophic problem with his shot.  Drafting is a very inexact science.  Who knows how good he is going to be.  It would be foolish to declare him the next all star or whatever but I think equally foolish to give up on him already. 

He is 19 years old.  He will be barely 20 at the start of the season.  I don't expect much of him this season but I certainly feel he could be a good NBA player.  Look what Terry Rozier turned into and how much money he got.  Would it really be a shock if Langford turned out the be the next Rozier?

There are always plenty of James Youngs in every draft.  Langford could be one of them.  If he is, he won't be alone.

This is what I'm afraid with Langford

that he might turn out to be a right dominant version of James Young

both are long but lack exceptional quickness/explosiveness. Young couldn't drive right. Langford is right hand dominant.  Young was suppose to be a good shooter or at least had a sweet stroke that could lead to that. But never became one

Langford has more playground skills/creativity/craftyness that hopefully sets him apart

Still kind of bummed out that Herro was taken at #13 =T