BOSTON – More than three months after he was drafted, and two days into training camp, Romeo Langford remains a bit of a mystery to the Boston Celtics fan base. Within the team, however, he’s regarded as a prospect with significant upside that could impact the C's at both ends of the court in the coming years.
There’s a lot to be excited about when it comes to Langford, who stands in at 6-foot-6 and has skills and athleticism to boot. He is the prototype for an NBA wing, yet a pair of injuries have prevented him from earning much publicity thus far as a pro.
While fellow rookies Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards, Tremont Waters and Tacko Fall earned headlines at the NBA Summer League, Langford was sidelined by offseason surgery on his right thumb. Now, months later, Langford is nursing a tweaked left groin that has kept him out of live action during the first two days of training camp.
Neither he nor the Celtics appear to be very concerned with the most recent setback. Langford told Celtics.com that he “should be fine coming up here pretty soon.” When he does return, he can resume the process he started this summer of impressing the teammates and coaches who have been around him for months.
All of Langford’s live action with the team has come behind closed doors. One of the people who was present for much of that action is Gordon Hayward, who just so happens to be a skilled and athletic, 6-foot-8 wing himself.
Hayward has both watched and played on the court with Langford since the rookie was cleared for full contact this summer. Hayward, a former All-Star, hasn’t just liked what he has seen out of the young wing; he’s actually been impressed by what Langford has brought to the table.
“Certainly, he’s got the NBA size,” said Hayward, “and to me, he read the pick-and-rolls a lot better than I thought a younger player would be at reading the pick-and-rolls. He was really good at holding his man off, had a good feel for the timing of it.”
Langford also showcased to Hayward that he has plenty of potential at the other end of the court.
“Like I said, he’s got great NBA size,” Hayward said of Langford’s defensive upside. “Somebody that should be able to guard multiple positions, 1 through 3, maybe even 4 if he keeps building some strength, and for sure has a bright future.”
Stevens also alluded to Langford’s build, as well as his basketball IQ, as traits that give the rookie a high ceiling on defense. But the coach warned that there’s a way to go until Langford reaches that potential.
“He knows the game,” said Stevens. “Now it’s just a matter of doing it at this speed, which is not easy.”
Langford couldn’t agree more after he was notified Wednesday of his coach’s comments.
“That’s probably like the biggest difference,” he said of the speed of the game. “The terminology and the things we do is basically the same as college, it’s just more intense, a lot more physical, and things happen just a lot faster.”
Langford is looking forward to returning to full health and catching up to the NBA’s speed. In the meantime, he has goals with regard to what he wants to show his coaches and teammates while he’s sidelined.
“Just that even though I haven’t been playing, I’ve still been learning the sets, and I’m not a step behind just because I wasn’t able to play,” he said. “That I was paying attention and able to learn.”
Langford has been forced to learn from the sideline far more than he’d prefer through the first three-plus months of his NBA career. Sooner rather than later, he’ll return to full health and live action, which will finally give the Celtics fans a chance to learn more about him.
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