Boston Celtics: Should Cs explore Romeo Langford’s trade market?

After a turbulent season that ended in an embarrassing loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round, the Boston Celtics went into the offseason with mixed feelings about the future back in 2019.

Kyrie Irving, Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris, Al Horford, and Aaron Baynes were all question marks to come back given the status of their contracts and their roles on the team. Every one of them ended up departing, which left the Celtics with some massive holes to fill.

In response, they signed Kemba Walker to try and fill in for Irving, extended Daniel Theis and signed Enes Kanter to make up for losing Horford and Baynes, and drafted Romeo Langford with the hopes that he could replace Morris.

At the time, Langford had been thought of as one of the most underrated prospects in the draft whose stock was only tanked due to his hand injury while at Indiana. He was an excellent finisher around the rim, dynamic shot creator, and lock-down defender. His jumper was very inconsistent…but not because he had any hitches in his form or was simply an inaccurate shooter.

A hand injury derailed his shooting promise and was a large factor in his falling in the draft. Regardless of this injury, the C’s took a chance on the six-foot-six shooting guard with the hopes that they could help him revive his jumper and kick start his NBA career.

Langford did not play in any of the Boston Celtics’ summer league games due to a thumb injury and did not participate in a majority of training due to a groin strain. Shortly after he recovered from his groin injury, Langford sprained his knee just before the Celtics’ opener against the Sixers.

Luckily, he was not out for long and was good to go for the C’s game against the Bucks later in the week. After not receiving much playing time, Langford was sent down to the Maine Red Claws (now dubbed the Maine Celtics). He had a couple of impressive performances with the Boston Celtics’ G-League affiliate, including a 40 point outing, and earned a call-up to the C’s NBA roster.

He was in and out of the lineup with lingering injuries but made multiple appearances down the stretch of the season before the NBA hiatus. In the bubble, Langford’s minutes were staggered but he was still in the rotation. He looked to be a part of Brad Steven’s playoff rotation until the team revealed he would have season-ending wrist surgery to repair torn ligaments.

The team also reported he would miss four-six weeks due to an adductor strain which would keep him out through the start of the 2020-21 NBA season. Not only did he miss the start, but he also missed more than half of the season, not playing a game until the 50th game of the C’s season.

Langford has had the injury bug since before he got to the Celtics and he has not been able to shake it since he got there. But even with that, he’s showed promise and has the potential to be a key cog in the Celtics roster moving forward. His rim pressure and elite defense have impressed fans and coaches alike and it makes evaluating his future with the team that much harder.

The Boston Celtics have two simple options when it comes to Romeo Langford moving forward:  keep him or trade him.

The benefits to keeping Langford are simple. He can develop, and if he becomes what the Celtics hoped he would on the draft night, then everyone’s happy and they have a cheap and committed player to help Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown win a championship.

The dilemma with keeping him is that the Boston Celtics are approaching a crossroad when they can’t keep waiting on the guys at the end of the bench to develop. The speed at which Brown and Tatum have developed has accelerated Boston’s timeline and exasperated their need to bring in competent, veteran role players to help them come playoff time. No matter how you spin it, Langford is not at that level yet and will need time to become that.

There can be no objective verdict when it comes to what the Cs should do with Langford moving forward. Another veteran on the team would certainly help but at the same time, Langford is not exactly holding Boston back from bringing in one considering how little he makes.

The market for Langford is unknown, his value just as big a mystery. He is a former lottery pick but he has almost no NBA experience in comparison to his classmates. Teams would have to be willing to take a risk on him and are unlikely to give up assets for him. The only way to increase Langford’s trade value is to play him and hope he pops out in the film room.

But, the Boston Celtics may no longer be in a position to boost guys’ trade value seeing as they want to be contending and there’s a big chance Langford does not perform well enough for his trade value to significantly increase, at least not for another few seasons.

With their stars going into their fifth and sixth season, Boston finds itself in a very bitter-sweet position. They don’t have to give everything up to contend but their two top guys are ready to go to the next level. They just need the roster to do it and Langford and the Celtics’ other recent picks might not be able to fit on that roster.

Given how good of a defender Langford is, he can contribute on a high-level roster…but only in short stints and he will only be contributing on defense, putting his offensive development will be put on the back burner.

Which I don’t think is as big of a deal as it seems like. As long as Langford is given time on the floor, his overall game will polish itself. I would not mind keeping him, but I also don’t think he is untradeable. He shouldn’t be dealt for scraps but he also should not be kept off the table for serious contributors. It’s up to Stevens and the Boston Celtics’ front office, but I don’t see the harm in bringing Langford back.