Romeo Langford’s time with the Boston Celtics has been nothing short of disappointing for a number of reasons.
Obviously, none stick out as much as his injury history so far in green and white–which, to be fair, was easy to see coming considering his injury history before putting on a Celtics uniform. Still, it doesn’t make it any easier to have gotten zero production from Langford as he approaches the halfway point of his second season.
His right wrist is the current issue, having wiped away the entirety of Langford’s 2020-21 campaign. That isn’t the first time that hand has had issues, either. His 2019 NBA Draft pre-workouts were canceled because of a right thumb issue at the time.
At this point, it’s fair to wonder if things will ever click with Langford’s time in Beantown. Hell, Hardwood Houdini hasn’t been shy about trying to find him a new home.
As I mention frequently, this is a business-driven move, not a personal one. The Cs are in the business of avoiding the Los Angeles Lakers surpassing them in total championships, and Langford himself will eventually be in the business of earning a lucrative second deal in the NBA. Aaron Nesmith seems to directly inhibit that ability to.
Neither party may benefit from staying together.
This isn’t a toxic relationship, but at some point, it could just be best for both sides to move on. If Danny Ainge is able to find an amenable deal, here are 3 landing spots that make sense for the Boston Celtics guard:
Potential Boston Celtics Romeo Langford trade partner #1: Washington Wizards
Fun fact (well, not for Washington): the Wizards gave up a first-round pick this past offseason to acquire Russell Westbrook, and they sit in second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference. Oh, and Westbrook is having his least efficient season since his rookie year.
At this point, the Wizards need to sell off their veterans for youth/draft capital (Bradley Beal, Davis Bertans, Westbrook if there is such a deal for him) and the Boston Celtics’ $28.5 million traded player exception makes them a possible trade partner for the non-Westbrook D.C. vets.
While a Beal deal seems uncertain without Jaylen Brown or Marcus Smart included, Bertans is someone likely to be considered, considering Ainge’s need for “shooters with size”.
Langford starting over for a team that should be rushing to start over makes a lot of sense to the Houdini.
Potential Boston Celtics Romeo Langford trade partner #2: Oklahoma City Thunder
Whatever the Oklahoma City Thunder are doing with their rebuild…it is working and then some. After trading away Russell Westbrook and Paul George were traded away in the summer of 2019, the Thunder were supposed to embark on a rebuild.
Then, in 2019-20, Chris Paul was able to keep them afloat in the Western Conference–so much so that OKC was able to nab a top 5 seed and almost make it out of the first round of the postseason.
It only made sense for the Thunder to flip Paul this past offseason, sending him to a Phoenix Suns team that appeared to be more ready to contend in 2021. Amazingly, with more than a quarter of the 2020-21 NBA season, only 2.5 games separate the two teams in the standings.
Oklahoma City is doing it with guys like Kenrich Williams and Theo Maledon picking up starter’s minutes. Langford could be the next to be sent to the land of the misfit toys and come out looking like a foundational piece for a future playoff fixture.
If OKC wants to move on from George Hill (assuming he returns from injury without any long-term questions) perhaps Boston could add the playoff-proven vet to a roster that could use an upgrade in the veteran reserve point guard department with Jeff Teague struggling.
Langford could be a nice get for the Thunder in that scenario.
Potential Boston Celtics Romeo Langford trade partner #3: San Antonio Spurs
Finally, the last (and possibly best) landing spot for Romeo Langford in a potential deal would be the San Antonio Spurs.
It’s unknown currently how long Gregg Popovich plans on sticking around in the Alamo City. It appeared that last season was the logical end at the time with the Spurs missing out on the postseason for the first time since before the turn of the century.
Instead, though, Pop stayed and now has the Spurs in the thick of the postseason picture. San Antonio currently dwells in the middle of the pack in the west playoffs scene, but they could shift to rebuilding mode if some of the usual Western Conference mainstays (Houston, Golden State) can get their stars in order and surpass the win-by-committee approach the modern-day Spurs play by.
In that scenario, both DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge would be interesting targets to absorb into the historic $28.5 million traded player exception that the Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade to the Charlotte Hornets created.
Aldridge would make sense as a positional threat, but DeRozan is clearly the superior player and would move the needle for the Boston Celtics more.
Re: Langford, if there’s a place that can get the most out of anyone, it’s San Antonio. With the Spurs wing rotation currently consisting of Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson, there’s room for another versatile offensive threat to thrive.
Langford could be that threat, whether it is under Popovich or a new guard in San Antonio.