Romeo Langford Thread

[Slartibartfast]

I don't expect that Langford will be a fully formed player by any stretch, but even for a lottery pick, he looked pretty bad in that video. Didn't seem to be fully engaged. I hope it can be "very fixable," but while he may be skilled, I worry about a lack of fire. Floating/standing around on the court as in that video is an indicator to me that he lacks fire, and how is that fixable?

Rudy Gay, Jeff Green syndrome! God I hope not.

One of Langford's biggest knocks is he doesn't care at all about basketball.

He doesn't put effort in on offense or defense, shies away from contact.

He shot like *** from 3 last year and loves being an ISO black hole inefficient player.

He kind of has all the qualities of the typical person who was born talented to make it to the NBA but has 0 drive and as a NBA fan you absolutely end up hating having on your team. (on another team he doesn't make that big of an impact beyond being a chucker).

This pick is a lot like when Ainge drafted James Young. Someone who could flame out easiely after his rookie contract but is worth taking with a pick just in case he gets a heart transplant imo.

We shouldn't put any expectations on him being in the rotation or making an impact this season, imho.

I also think if Ainge knew Kemba was coming he would have thrown this dart in a different area. Withou Kemba Langford might have been a risk worth taking and hoping he becomes an ET like player or just another sparkplug off the bench like Carson Edwards who jacks his way into some kind of minutes for an offense starved team.

Where are you getting all of this? Romeo just has a stone face. He's been obsessed with basketball since he was a kid.

Shies away from contact? That's just not true. He's one of the most physical, contact-seeking players in the draft. He does have some chucker in him, but no more than the Jays coming out of college.

James Young was not an effortless bum, he was just extremely poorly suited to the NBA. He couldn't dribble, could not slide laterally, could not pass and his jumper was more mediocre than good. He might not have worked his butt off either (though he did win over Brad towards the end of his contract, IIRC), but his failure was primarily about his game or lack thereof.

[Tiny ball]

I keep saying it: Yabusele and the rights to Langford to Indiana for Sabonis.

Right there with you!

Why would they take that low ball offer?

[celticfan42487]

Rudy Gay, Jeff Green syndrome! God I hope not.

One of Langford's biggest knocks is he doesn't care at all about basketball.

He doesn't put effort in on offense or defense, shies away from contact.

He shot like *** from 3 last year and loves being an ISO black hole inefficient player.

He kind of has all the qualities of the typical person who was born talented to make it to the NBA but has 0 drive and as a NBA fan you absolutely end up hating having on your team. (on another team he doesn't make that big of an impact beyond being a chucker).

This pick is a lot like when Ainge drafted James Young. Someone who could flame out easiely after his rookie contract but is worth taking with a pick just in case he gets a heart transplant imo.

We shouldn't put any expectations on him being in the rotation or making an impact this season, imho.

I also think if Ainge knew Kemba was coming he would have thrown this dart in a different area. Withou Kemba Langford might have been a risk worth taking and hoping he becomes an ET like player or just another sparkplug off the bench like Carson Edwards who jacks his way into some kind of minutes for an offense starved team.

Where are you getting all of this? Romeo just has a stone face. He's been obsessed with basketball since he was a kid.

Shies away from contact? That's just not true. He's one of the most physical, contact-seeking players in the draft. He does have some chucker in him, but no more than the Jays coming out of college.

James Young was not an effortless bum, he was just extremely poorly suited to the NBA. He couldn't dribble, could not slide laterally, could not pass and his jumper was more mediocre than good. He might not have worked his butt off either (though he did win over Brad towards the end of his contract, IIRC), but his failure was primarily about his game or lack thereof.

From just about any scouting report on him. Here's the Draftexpress one. Stick around for the weaknesses part of it.

Watch on YouTube

I can see why Ainge is throwing the dart like I said. Same thing he did with James Young.

I personally think though if Ainge knew Kemba was a lock he'd throw the dart at Sekou Doumbouya instead. Or if you wanted someone that actually complimented players like Kemba, Smart, Brown, or Tatum on our team he'd go Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

[Slartibartfast]

One of Langford's biggest knocks is he doesn't care at all about basketball.

He doesn't put effort in on offense or defense, shies away from contact.

He shot like *** from 3 last year and loves being an ISO black hole inefficient player.

He kind of has all the qualities of the typical person who was born talented to make it to the NBA but has 0 drive and as a NBA fan you absolutely end up hating having on your team. (on another team he doesn't make that big of an impact beyond being a chucker).

This pick is a lot like when Ainge drafted James Young. Someone who could flame out easiely after his rookie contract but is worth taking with a pick just in case he gets a heart transplant imo.

We shouldn't put any expectations on him being in the rotation or making an impact this season, imho.

I also think if Ainge knew Kemba was coming he would have thrown this dart in a different area. Withou Kemba Langford might have been a risk worth taking and hoping he becomes an ET like player or just another sparkplug off the bench like Carson Edwards who jacks his way into some kind of minutes for an offense starved team.

Where are you getting all of this? Romeo just has a stone face. He's been obsessed with basketball since he was a kid.

Shies away from contact? That's just not true. He's one of the most physical, contact-seeking players in the draft. He does have some chucker in him, but no more than the Jays coming out of college.

James Young was not an effortless bum, he was just extremely poorly suited to the NBA. He couldn't dribble, could not slide laterally, could not pass and his jumper was more mediocre than good. He might not have worked his butt off either (though he did win over Brad towards the end of his contract, IIRC), but his failure was primarily about his game or lack thereof.

From just about any scouting report on him. Here's the Draftexpress one. Stick around for the weaknesses part of it.

Watch on YouTube

I can see why Ainge is throwing the dart like I said. Same thing he did with James Young.

I personally think though if Ainge knew Kemba was a walk he'd throw the dart at Sekou Doumbouya instead.

That was preseason - he put the shying away from contact stuff to bed with how he played at Indiana. Great free throw rate. Relentless slasher.

This is a great video for the good and bad of Langford:

Watch on YouTube

On the bad front you'll see him get terrible tunnel vision on a lot of his drives - a completely legit criticism of his game. You'll also see him struggle to get separation going towards the basket against NBA caliber athletes. Takes some bad shots. And he got bothered by length at the rim too (lack of explosive hops, forcing the issue). And of course you'll see him get lost on D.

But you will not see a guy who shies away from contact - he relishes it. He posts up, he attacks the bodies of defenders, scraps for boards. He's also got moves that James Young never had. Creates just about everything for himself. He gets excellent spacing on his stepback. Drives left and right. Has great length extending around the basket and strength to keep guys on his hip. Hits clutch shots from a variety of spot.

[zoyathedestroya]

Read on Twitter

[Bleeding Green]

This kind of thing is very fixable. Our coaching staff will spend hours watching games films and teaching him how and when to move without the ball.
Not a big concern to me.

I don't expect that Langford will be a fully formed player by any stretch, but even for a lottery pick, he looked pretty bad in that video. Didn't seem to be fully engaged. I hope it can be "very fixable," but while he may be skilled, I worry about a lack of fire. Floating/standing around on the court as in that video is an indicator to me that he lacks fire, and how is that fixable?

Rudy Gay, Jeff Green syndrome! God I hope not.

Wow if you can get Rudy Gay or Jeff Green at pick 14 in a weak draft, you do that every time.

[Slartibartfast]

I agree 100% I saw a video that showed him off the ball and it was alarming to say the least. He was just standing there not in any postilion to make a play or contribute for that matter. Don't ask for the vid. I cant find it to save my life!

I think it was this video (starting at around 7:30 mark):

Watch on YouTube

;t=519s

Yup that's it. The move around the 9 min mark is a major concern. He has no clue or his brain shut down!

After going back and watching a half-dozen Indiana games, I think we are coming down too hard on his off ball awareness. He was actually one of Indiana's best cutters playing off of Juwan Morgan's post play and the best screen setter of their guards.

Definitely has terrible zone out moments too, but there's some good in there to build off in terms of off-ball work.

[Fencer reregistered]

I looked up a list of Indiana "Mr. Basketball" winners. I could only identify one who got the award in the past 50 years and later went on to be an NBA All-Star. That was Glenn Robinson; evidently Larry Bird didn't win the award, although 3 different Zeller brothers did, along with Eric Gordon, Gary Harris and a whole lot of people we've never heard of at all.

Long-ago winners include George McGinnis, the van Arsdale twins, and the great Oscar Robertson.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Mr._Basketball

[jfs1000d]

One of Langford's biggest knocks is he doesn't care at all about basketball.

He doesn't put effort in on offense or defense, shies away from contact.

He shot like *** from 3 last year and loves being an ISO black hole inefficient player.

He kind of has all the qualities of the typical person who was born talented to make it to the NBA but has 0 drive and as a NBA fan you absolutely end up hating having on your team. (on another team he doesn't make that big of an impact beyond being a chucker).

This pick is a lot like when Ainge drafted James Young. Someone who could flame out easiely after his rookie contract but is worth taking with a pick just in case he gets a heart transplant imo.

We shouldn't put any expectations on him being in the rotation or making an impact this season, imho.

I also think if Ainge knew Kemba was coming he would have thrown this dart in a different area. Withou Kemba Langford might have been a risk worth taking and hoping he becomes an ET like player or just another sparkplug off the bench like Carson Edwards who jacks his way into some kind of minutes for an offense starved team.

Where are you getting all of this? Romeo just has a stone face. He's been obsessed with basketball since he was a kid.

Shies away from contact? That's just not true. He's one of the most physical, contact-seeking players in the draft. He does have some chucker in him, but no more than the Jays coming out of college.

James Young was not an effortless bum, he was just extremely poorly suited to the NBA. He couldn't dribble, could not slide laterally, could not pass and his jumper was more mediocre than good. He might not have worked his butt off either (though he did win over Brad towards the end of his contract, IIRC), but his failure was primarily about his game or lack thereof.

From just about any scouting report on him. Here's the Draftexpress one. Stick around for the weaknesses part of it.

Watch on YouTube

I can see why Ainge is throwing the dart like I said. Same thing he did with James Young.

I personally think though if Ainge knew Kemba was a lock he'd throw the dart at Sekou Doumbouya instead. Or if you wanted someone that actually complimented players like Kemba, Smart, Brown, or Tatum on our team he'd go Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

This guy looks like a stellar prospect who was good, not great at IU


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[GregB]

I keep saying it: Yabusele and the rights to Langford to Indiana for Sabonis.

Right there with you!

Why would they take that low ball offer?

Agreed. The pacers just traded/signed their core rotation to free up a starting spot for Sabonis.

Brogdon, Lamb, Warren, Sabonis, Turner is a pretty solid lineup until Oladipo gets back and then Lamb becomes your sixth man.

[cloverleaf]

Far too much standing around without the ball and on D for my taste. Shot and demeanor and profile enough like Fultz to give me pause. I still would have prefered Danny pick someone else there--one of the int'l bigs, for example.

But I like the other 3 picks and of course hope Langford excels at this level.

[ddb]

What I dont like about Langford is that I have absolutely zero idea if he will be able to help this team this season. No clue whatsoever if he is a future star or the next James Young. I cant tell with this kid at all.

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[Fencer reregistered]

What I dont like about Langford is that I have absolutely zero idea if he will be able to help this team this season. No clue whatsoever if he is a future star or the next James Young. I cant tell with this kid at all.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

He accomplished little in college, is too hurt to play in Summer League, and starts at the bottom of a long depth chart. I'm not expecting any significant contribution his rookie year.

There's probably more chance of an early contribution from Carsen Edwards, who was better than Langford last season and is healthier than Langford this summer.

[Curmudgeon]

Langford has "bust" written all over him. I wish they would trade his rights to the Pacers before that becomes obvious.

[Slartibartfast]

What I dont like about Langford is that I have absolutely zero idea if he will be able to help this team this season. No clue whatsoever if he is a future star or the next James Young. I cant tell with this kid at all.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

I think Romeo is a moderately high floor prospect, even if he might not be roleplayer grade right away. Size, strength, length and quickness are all NBA quality for on ball wing defense - not talking shutdown but the competence is there right now. James Young was a turnstile with no lateral quickness - he needed to be a workout demon just to make it to average. Romeo will be a decent on-ball defender even without significant improvement.

Offensively he's got too many skills to go full James Young too. Remember Young was an unathletic wing with a crappy handle and a J. If he couldn't hit 3's and catch and shoot Js at a high rate he was useless offensively. Langford is a crappy catch and shoot 3-point shooter and an iffy playmaker, but he can legit handle and create his own shot from 20 feet in. And he's got a ton of shots - pull-ups and stepbacks going left and right, runners, floaters and leaners.

The problem is whether a playoff team with so many wing and scoring options is going to let a rook have the kind of usage he'll need and whether he can hit enough spot-up 3s to stay on the floor as a 4th, 5th option. We have better, established 3/D options in Semi and Smart ahead of him for that kind of role, and we've got three wings who are already going to be competing for touches ahead of him in Tatum, Hayward and JB.

[Slartibartfast]

What I dont like about Langford is that I have absolutely zero idea if he will be able to help this team this season. No clue whatsoever if he is a future star or the next James Young. I cant tell with this kid at all.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

He accomplished little in college, is too hurt to play in Summer League, and starts at the bottom of a long depth chart. I'm not expecting any significant contribution his rookie year.

There's probably more chance of an early contribution from Carsen Edwards, who was better than Langford last season and is healthier than Langford this summer.

And has virtually no competition for Rozier's minutes. Carsen Edwards could not have come to a better situation. If his 3 point touch doesn't abandon him with the extra distance of the NBA line, he could be an All-Rookie guy.

I like Langford better, but this is a tough situation for Langford to step into as a rook. Needs a trade to free up any kind of minutes for him.

[Half-Full]

Far too much standing around without the ball and on D for my taste. Shot and demeanor and profile enough like Fultz to give me pause. I still would have prefered Danny pick someone else there--one of the int'l bigs, for example.

But I like the other 3 picks and of course hope Langford excels at this level.

My sentiments exactly. It's not that Langford doesn't have skill or potential, but he looked pretty lackadaisical in those videos. Not giving any effort. I wonder if he was ever benched for it. I too hope that he succeeds with the Celtics, but I feel a lot better about our other picks. I think Grant Williams will be a contributor on the court right away, and his personality and character are already a welcome addition.

[ddb]

What I dont like about Langford is that I have absolutely zero idea if he will be able to help this team this season. No clue whatsoever if he is a future star or the next James Young. I cant tell with this kid at all.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

He accomplished little in college, is too hurt to play in Summer League, and starts at the bottom of a long depth chart. I'm not expecting any significant contribution his rookie year.

There's probably more chance of an early contribution from Carsen Edwards, who was better than Langford last season and is healthier than Langford this summer.

And has virtually no competition for Rozier's minutes. Carsen Edwards could not have come to a better situation. If his 3 point touch doesn't abandon him with the extra distance of the NBA line, he could be an All-Rookie guy.

I like Langford better, but this is a tough situation for Langford to step into as a rook. Needs a trade to free up any kind of minutes for him.

Edwards is going to earn some minutes and a role on this team. I REALLY like Smart/Edwards as the guards off the bench. Tough, hard nosed, and Edwards compliments Marcus well. Both can play on or off ball. Edwards will score on that 2nd unit.

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[Half-Full]

The Celtics have added Jon Elmore to their Summer League roster. I previously posted some links about him, and here are a few of more:

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

I really like this kid. He has great skills, and a fierce commitment. While his athleticism may not be top tier, his work ethic, and basketball savvy are. Would like to see him in Celtics green, but given our glut of good young PG prospects, that might be an unlikely outcome. You never know, though...

[Fencer reregistered]

What I dont like about Langford is that I have absolutely zero idea if he will be able to help this team this season. No clue whatsoever if he is a future star or the next James Young. I cant tell with this kid at all.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

He accomplished little in college, is too hurt to play in Summer League, and starts at the bottom of a long depth chart. I'm not expecting any significant contribution his rookie year.

There's probably more chance of an early contribution from Carsen Edwards, who was better than Langford last season and is healthier than Langford this summer.

And has virtually no competition for Rozier's minutes. Carsen Edwards could not have come to a better situation. If his 3 point touch doesn't abandon him with the extra distance of the NBA line, he could be an All-Rookie guy.

I like Langford better, but this is a tough situation for Langford to step into as a rook. Needs a trade to free up any kind of minutes for him.

I'd say the many natural SFs are collectively in the competition for Rozier's minutes. Injuries aside, there's no natural endowment of PG minutes beyond the >48 that Walker and Smart will combine to get.