This young trio is vital to what's ahead for Celtics

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/celtics-offseason-aaron-nesmith-romeo-langford-payton-pritchard-are-vital-future



This young trio is vital to what's ahead for Celtics



JUN 23, 2021

BY CHRIS FORSBERG
CELTICS INSIDER



The postseason stay of the 2020-21 Boston Celtics, brief and underwhelming as it might have been, was not without silver linings. Jayson Tatum had a pair of monster nights, including 50-point efforts in a play-in victory over the Wizards and a tantalizing Game 3 triumph over the talent-filled Brooklyn Nets.

But the other long-term benefit for the Celtics after navigating the postseason without Jaylen Brown was young players like Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith, and Payton Pritchard getting quality playoff minutes that ought to set them up for greater success next season.

The development of Langford and Nesmith, in particular, could be vital to the Celtics' success moving forward. As Boston attempts to navigate a path to adding a third star, the Celtics’ young wings must emerge as either consistent contributors or intriguing trade options.


The bloat at the top of Boston’s cap sheet, which would inflate even more with the addition of a third star, puts stress on the Celtics front office to find young, cost-controlled talent. Boston had to give up its 2021 first-round pick to move Kemba Walker, adding even more stress on nurturing recent draftees.

Fortunately for the Celtics, there were encouraging moments with their youngest players in a season otherwise defined by frustrations. And yet there still are great strides that each player must make to truly emerge as a consistent presence.


But it’s fair to suggest that Nesmith, Langford, and Pritchard could be three key bench pieces for the 2021-22 season, even if the back end of the roster gets a greater overhaul.


Nesmith didn’t let the disappointment of fading from the rotation in the middle of the season deter his rookie-year growth, as he made hustle and grit as much of a trademark as his 3-point shot. He logged 75 playoff minutes against the Nets, including 19 minutes in Game 4 where he chipped in 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and made a trio of trifectas.

His shot otherwise defied him in that series but that’s not uncommon for rookies. Having to defend James Harden and getting called for a bunch of ticky-tack fouls will go a long way towards teaching Nesmith the level he needs to get to on that end of the floor to be a two-way presence.

There’s a lot to like about his potential as a spot-up shooter who can make defenses pay for over-helping on Tatum and Brown. Over the final 14 games of the regular season, Nesmith shot 46.2 percent beyond the 3-point arc and 52.4 percent from the floor, while averaging 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game. Dial it back to the final three months of the regular season and Nesmith shot 40 percent beyond the 3-point arc on 2.2 attempts per game in 30 appearances.


Finding his groove?

Aaron Nesmith's 3PT% over his first 14 games - 31.7%
Aaron Nesmith's 3PT% over his final 14 games - 46.2%


Langford endured another maddening season in which his absence from the floor was a bigger story than what he did on it. A quick turnaround from the previous season didn’t help Langford’s cause after offseason wrist surgery but even as he prepped to debut after the All-Star break, he caught COVID and missed even more time.

Maybe even more frustrating, after reestablishing himself as an impact defender, Langford endured some offensive woes and, combined with a bit of seemingly low energy, faded from the rotation for a stretch spanning into early May.

Boston’s shorthanded nature and a need for wing defenders gave him another opportunity in the playoffs and Langford answered the call. He played 109 minutes against Brooklyn and started the final two games of the series with Walker out.

Langford’s offense has to catch up to his defense. The Celtics ought to lock him in the Auerbach Center this summer and let him launch 1,000 3-pointers per day. His high school and college career suggest a player more than capable of consistently impacting on the offensive end, particularly in pick-and-roll play, but he’s got to develop into a spot-up shooter to fully complement the Jays.

Langford and Nesmith are only 21 (Nesmith, in fact, is 9 days older). There’s a ton of opportunity to grow and develop. They have the size and talent to aid this core.

Pritchard shooting 41.1 percent beyond the arc in his rookie campaign bodes well for the team, too. The Celtics probably need another point guard option with him and Marcus Smart but his steadiness is important for this team.


The Celtics need to overhaul the end of their bench and there’s a whole bunch of questions about the 2019 NBA Draft class beyond Langford. But the Nesmith-Pritchard-Langford trio could be crucial to whatever this team accomplishes — or at least how it looks — deep into the future.


Bob
MY NOTE:  Based upon the interviews at the NBA Combine I'm thinking that one of these young talents will be packaged for a 2021 pick.  I don't know which one, I'm hoping it's none of them (although I'm sticking by my original estimate that only a very few of last season's roster should feel safe, certainly nobody from 8 down) because they all showed some promise; Pritchard all season, Nesmith in the last month or so and Romeo in the playoffs but Brad is cooking something up and they are valuable trade chips.

One of the advantages of having the head coach becoming the GM is that he knows exactly, precisely, which players should stick around and who shouldn't.  Maybe the reason why there's all this turbulence around the Combine is because Brad wasn't happy with Danny not moving some players by the deadline last year or two, and now sees an opportunity to do so?

This is supposed to be a slower time of the year for the fans of at least 26 of the 30 NBA teams, because we've been knocked out of the playoffs by now.  Everything I've been reading about our activity level at the Combine doesn't make it feel slower to me.


.

Bob,

For either of this pair to be traded now, their value in the trade would be mostly based on potential and not so much on their salary cap hit. That fits in with the "Celtics want to trade into the mid-lottery" narrative.

gyso wrote:Bob,

For either of this pair to be traded now, their value in the trade would be mostly based on potential and not so much on their salary cap hit.  That fits in with the "Celtics want to trade into the mid-lottery" narrative.  

gyso,

If it was a straight up "Player X for draft pick" then I agree with you 100%.  Is Brad really down on any of those three enough where he'd just hit the reset button on them?  Romeo (#14) is halfway through his contract, and struggles to stay healthy, but he's clearly an NBA player.  This is more than any draftee can positively claim.  Nesmith (#14) has shown he can play and Pritchard (#26) got a lot of minutes for a rookie who isn't a high draft pick.  In my opinion all 3 of these players have shown they should be traded at a higher value than they were drafted at, Pritchard in particular since he is now the most proven.  If any of them are about the same as where they were drafted it's Romeo, because of his freak injury history.

Trading one of them for a pick, straight up, confuses me.  Why bother, unless you see Romeo and Nesmith as being complete redundancy?  Trading multiple players, one of whom come from these three, for a veteran player and a pick makes more sense to me.  Say, Tristan Thompson and Romeo for Caris LeVert.  A sign-and-trade for TJ McConnell and a pick for Romeo.  Or Romeo and Thompson for Theo Maledon plus the #16 pick (Kistner).  I don't mean to pick on Romeo, but unless Smart is traded (a possibility) then he's the most expendable of the three.  Let's also remember that OKC has the #6 pick in the draft (Scottie Barnes?) and that Smart is from Flower Mound, TX (about 3 hours away from OKC) and he played at OK State.  He'd be "going home", and he's a big crowd favorite there.

I made a point of not trying to anticipate Danny's trades.  That was a fool's errand and trying to do it with Brad with only limited data (Kemba, that's it so far) would be too, but my gut is telling something is going to happen.  Draft Day is 32 days out.  Does Brad make the trade for the pick or does he wait for the draft and then deal with whomever gets the player he wants (unless they get picked for much higher or lower than projected and that changes the deal significantly).


Bob


.

Bob,

Yes, I can see a [Thompson or Smart] and [Our Player X] for [Their Veteran Player Y] and [Good 2021 First Rounder] trade happening before the draft.

(With Our Player X being one or two of: Langford, Nesmith, Pritchard, Semi, Kornet, Edwards, GWilliams, etc.)  

Remember, the current season is still ongoing, so Brad could include one player in the future potential category as well as one in the expiring contract category.

Our first round exit allows us more time for pre-draft trade shenanigans.  Maybe Brad takes advantage of this?

Worcester,

To me, it is just a possible transaction that Brad could be working on pre-draft, and not so much a thing that I am predicting.

Unless it gets us a good, not too old, starting PG/floor general, I would prefer to keep all three. PP is our only real PG at the moment (not just "can play the point"). If you trade him you need two PGs. And Langford plays some great defense. Our new defense minded coach should love him. Plus, despite his shooting woes since two surgeries, he was a top scorer in high school and at Indiana and won the shootout competition at the 2018 McDonalds All American game. And he's actually only had two injuries in two years, a torn lig in the wrist and a sprained ankle. Nesmith shows lots of promise as a SG/SF BU for Jaylen. I'd hate to see any of the three used as just a throw in. We obviously need a PG, even if just to BU PP. Trading PP doesn't solve that. And unless it's absolutely required by the other team to make a trade for someone good, I'd prefer to keep all three. We have other expendables.

As long as we get right value, I suggest that we sign Fournier and trade Smart to improve the roster. Try to groom Langford/Nesmith as Smart replacement. Al will help this year but we really need a 4 or another quality forward.

Love those kids, but neither has proved they can play point. At least Smart can play point.

prakash wrote:As long as we get right value, I suggest that we sign Fournier and trade Smart to improve the roster.  Try to groom Langford/Nesmith as Smart replacement.  Al will help this year but we really need a 4 or another quality forward.

Prakash,

What about Jabari Parker?


Bob


.

bobheckler wrote:

prakash wrote:As long as we get right value, I suggest that we sign Fournier and trade Smart to improve the roster.  Try to groom Langford/Nesmith as Smart replacement.  Al will help this year but we really need a 4 or another quality forward.

Prakash,

What about Jabari Parker?


Bob


.

He had a very underwhelming season last year. We know that he doesn't get it on defense. On top of it, the offense was not there either. The offense got better a little later in the season though.

From my vantage point, JT and JB both are score first players and it will take a while before they improve as passers. So we can't have a no-defense offensive player in the rotation with them. That is where Jabari gets squeezed out. We saw a similar phenomenon with Batum on the Clips.

A line up of Smart, (improved) Langford/Nesmith, JB, JT and Al/RWill is high quality but just falls short for me. Al can't play heavy minutes and overall, there is not enough ball movement and offensive creativity here.

Here are some options to play this hand, and I admit that I don't think enough about all possible options:

1) Bet on reasonable improvements from Langford and/or Nesmith.
2) Sign Fournier, #1 is just a bet.
3) Find a creator. Kyle Lowry and Draymond Green come to mind. I don't know what may be available in the draft and what the Celts can get.
4) Find a 4; I had suggested trading RWill for Miles Bridges. Charlotte badly needs a 5 and the Celts need a 4. Frankly, I will love this move.

Clearly, my thoughts are not complete. Smart, Fournier, Langford and Nesmith is one too many?

I seem to think that Parker is going to stick. His size is good, and he really was only here for a month and a half or so. The last couple of games he really worked well under the basket. He is one guy I would think about keeping. There is talent there, they just have to tap into it. In my opinion

Miles Bridges had a coming out party the second half of season, started to get the 3 ball to go with his rim rocking dunks, he is making GH expendable. Don’t see Hornets doing that trade for a talented player that cannot stay on the floor.

prakash wrote:

bobheckler wrote:

prakash wrote:As long as we get right value, I suggest that we sign Fournier and trade Smart to improve the roster.  Try to groom Langford/Nesmith as Smart replacement.  Al will help this year but we really need a 4 or another quality forward.

Prakash,

What about Jabari Parker?


Bob


.

He had a very underwhelming season last year.  We know that he doesn't get it on defense.  On top of it, the offense was not there either.  The offense got better a little later in the season though.

From my vantage point, JT and JB both are score first players and it will take a while before they improve as passers.  So we can't have a no-defense offensive player in the rotation with them.  That is where Jabari gets squeezed out.  We saw a similar phenomenon with Batum on the Clips.

A line up of Smart, (improved) Langford/Nesmith, JB, JT and Al/RWill is high quality but just falls short for me.  Al can't play heavy minutes and overall, there is not enough ball movement and offensive creativity here.

Here are some options to play this hand, and I admit that I don't think enough about all possible options:

1)  Bet on reasonable improvements from Langford and/or Nesmith.
2)  Sign Fournier, #1 is just a bet.
3)  Find a creator.  Kyle Lowry and Draymond Green come to mind.  I don't know what may be available in the draft and what the Celts can get.
4)  Find a 4; I had suggested trading RWill for Miles Bridges.  Charlotte badly needs a 5 and the Celts need a 4.  Frankly, I will love this move.

Clearly, my thoughts are not complete.  Smart, Fournier, Langford and Nesmith is one too many?

Prakash,

A pretty well thought out synopsis. I agree with just about all of it except that I don't think we can get either Lowry or Green. Lowry, if he's willing to play for the MLE, but I doubt he will. Green would require one of the young trio and more just to make the salaries match ($24M this year and under contract for one more year after that. Then a Player Option. He'd be 33 years old that year, he's 31 now).

What's the difference between a 4 and a 5 in today's NBA? To me it's all a blur now. Maybe better outside shooting? We picked up a 4 in Al Horford. That's the position he has always wanted to play but couldn't play a lot when he was here because RWill wasn't ready and Baynes could only do so much. Al averaged 27.9mpg last season in OKC, he just played in only 28 games because he got shut down to develop Brown, NOT because of injury. If he plays 20-25 mpg at 4 then you got your wish.


Bob


.

With Ben Simmons possibly on the move, that might shake loose a starting PG somewhere. We don't need a high scoring guard. We had that with KI and KW. Too expensive anyway. We need a point guard that can score when needed but will make the other four better scorers as well. PP is the right type, just maybe not experienced enough for a contender. Lowry would be good, though his age is not ideal. But the perfect is the enemy of the good.

bobheckler wrote:

prakash wrote:

bobheckler wrote:

prakash wrote:As long as we get right value, I suggest that we sign Fournier and trade Smart to improve the roster.  Try to groom Langford/Nesmith as Smart replacement.  Al will help this year but we really need a 4 or another quality forward.

Prakash,

What about Jabari Parker?


Bob


.

He had a very underwhelming season last year.  We know that he doesn't get it on defense.  On top of it, the offense was not there either.  The offense got better a little later in the season though.

From my vantage point, JT and JB both are score first players and it will take a while before they improve as passers.  So we can't have a no-defense offensive player in the rotation with them.  That is where Jabari gets squeezed out.  We saw a similar phenomenon with Batum on the Clips.

A line up of Smart, (improved) Langford/Nesmith, JB, JT and Al/RWill is high quality but just falls short for me.  Al can't play heavy minutes and overall, there is not enough ball movement and offensive creativity here.

Here are some options to play this hand, and I admit that I don't think enough about all possible options:

1)  Bet on reasonable improvements from Langford and/or Nesmith.
2)  Sign Fournier, #1 is just a bet.
3)  Find a creator.  Kyle Lowry and Draymond Green come to mind.  I don't know what may be available in the draft and what the Celts can get.
4)  Find a 4; I had suggested trading RWill for Miles Bridges.  Charlotte badly needs a 5 and the Celts need a 4.  Frankly, I will love this move.

Clearly, my thoughts are not complete.  Smart, Fournier, Langford and Nesmith is one too many?

Prakash,

A pretty well thought out synopsis.  I agree with just about all of it except that I don't think we can get either Lowry or Green.  Lowry, if he's willing to play for the MLE, but I doubt he will.  Green would require one of the young trio and more just to make the salaries match ($24M this year and under contract for one more year after that.  Then a Player Option.  He'd be 33 years old that year, he's 31 now).

What's the difference between a 4 and a 5 in today's NBA?  To me it's all a blur now.  Maybe better outside shooting?  We picked up a 4 in Al Horford.  That's the position he has always wanted to play but couldn't play a lot when he was here because RWill wasn't ready and Baynes could only do so much.  Al averaged 27.9mpg last season in OKC, he just played in only 28 games because he got shut down to develop Brown, NOT because of injury.  If he plays 20-25 mpg at 4 then you got your wish.


Bob


.

You are right, the difference between 4 or 5, or even 3/4/5 is not clear. I guess that I am expressing a need for another bigger, talented mobile wing.

At the end of the day, we have to figure out OUR special formula. Is it a double-big with Al and RWill? Both can only play limited minutes. Can they adopt the mindset of a 4: when required to switch to the perimeter and lose the tendency to sag back and focus on containing the wings? I don't know, we will see if coach IU experiments with it.

I worry about big-heavy lineups. They may work OK in the regular season. Playoff results are questionable. Clips bounced out Utah. Phoenix contained the Nuggets. In game 5, the Clips attacked the Suns primary lineup with a big using a small lineup, and then used their big against the Suns bench rotation.

Coach has already mentioned that we were 27th in assist last season. Swapping Kemba with Al will help, Al is much better setup man and will provide floor spacing.

If the Celts stay as currently constructed, even with some minor tweaks, I will be disappointed. Based upon your comments about Green and Lowry, I am guessing that you prefer a younger 1? Possibly because we already have a grand-daddy in Al? I will be OK with sticking with youth as long as we find some way to add some more creativity. I don't want the Celts to push their window out by a year. I want them to see if they can go for it now.

atcross wrote:With Ben Simmons possibly on the move, that might shake loose a starting PG somewhere. We don't need a high scoring guard. We had that with KI and KW. Too expensive anyway. We need a point guard that can score when needed but will make the other four better scorers as well. PP is the right type, just maybe not experienced enough for a contender. Lowry would be good, though his age is not ideal. But the perfect is the enemy of the good.  

Exactly. We have to understand that the team management is an optimization exercise. Smart will be a free agent next year. I believe that TT should be gone and that GWill and Edwards are very expendable. These three add up to $14M in salary. To this, add the $11.5M that the Celts have below the apron and that makes for $25M in room to work with.

What is Fournier's market value? Can we get him for $14M or less? If Lowry accepts a $14M contract, can we do a S&T for Lowry using Smart's contract? Still leaves $11M to flesh out the roster.

This is all hypothetical but a rotation of Lowry, Fournier, Brown, Tatum and Al with a bench of PP, Langford/Nesmith/Parker and RWill/MBrown makes much more sense to me than having Smart instead of Lowry.

BTW folks, still feeling out the dynamics here. Not preaching but just engaging in a conversation with "what if" exploration.

That is what we like here. If no one talks, then it becomes a boring place to be. You are in the right place, some of these guys have a handle on the cap and who we can afford, who might be available,, who would fit. I just sit back and wait for them to point me in the direction I might like!!!! Bob H, Gyso, Dboss, help me along the way and NYCelt is here to correct us all when he finds an error here or there

I prefer Smart to Lowry, let alone surrendering additional assets. Lowry is 35; Smart 27. We don't need a short term solution unless it is bona fide superstar

Agree.. but I am partial to Smart anywat

BTW, we're all talking about Langford's defensive skills and how we hope he will develop an offense. But I remember that when he was a high school prospect he was known for his offense, not his defense. So I did a little research. As a sophomore in HS his team won the 4A Indiana championship. Yeah, I know, just high school. but 4A Indiana HS hoops is pretty high up the HS quality ladder. And he averaged 30 PPG. As a senior he averaged 35.5 PPG. And shot 36% from 3. Then at Indiana he averaged 16+ PPG, the third highest for any freshman ever at IU. And he did that AFTER tearing the ligament in his hand. Coming out of HS he was ranked as the #5 prospect (Zion was #1), based on his offense. So I think the kid can score. He just needs a training camp and minutes in the rotation.

atcross wrote:BTW, we're all talking about Langford's defensive skills and how we hope he will develop an offense. But I remember that when he was a high school prospect he was known for his offense, not his defense. So I did a little research. As a sophomore in HS his team won the 4A Indiana championship. Yeah, I know, just high school. but 4A Indiana HS hoops is pretty high up the HS quality ladder. And he averaged 30 PPG. As a senior he averaged 35.5 PPG. And shot 36% from 3. Then at Indiana he averaged 16+ PPG, the third highest for any freshman ever at IU. And he did that AFTER tearing the ligament in his hand. Coming out of HS he was ranked as the #5 prospect (Zion was #1), based on his offense. So I think the kid can score. He just needs a training camp and minutes in the rotation.

He can score and is a natural finisher, he just can’t shoot, but Jason Kidd and a lot of players not named Ben Simmons developed a shot eventually that got very good/accurate. Romeo can develop that shot if he puts in the work....

cowens/oldschool wrote:

atcross wrote:BTW, we're all talking about Langford's defensive skills and how we hope he will develop an offense. But I remember that when he was a high school prospect he was known for his offense, not his defense. So I did a little research. As a sophomore in HS his team won the 4A Indiana championship. Yeah, I know, just high school. but 4A Indiana HS hoops is pretty high up the HS quality ladder. And he averaged 30 PPG. As a senior he averaged 35.5 PPG. And shot 36% from 3. Then at Indiana he averaged 16+ PPG, the third highest for any freshman ever at IU. And he did that AFTER tearing the ligament in his hand. Coming out of HS he was ranked as the #5 prospect (Zion was #1), based on his offense. So I think the kid can score. He just needs a training camp and minutes in the rotation.

He can score and is a natural finisher, he just can’t shoot, but Jason Kidd and a lot of players not named Ben Simmons developed a shot eventually that got very good/accurate. Romeo can develop that shot if he puts in the work....

Shooting 36% from three doesn't seem to say he can't shoot. That may not astound us but it doesn't say he can't shoot. Simmons can't shoot. We have to remember that since then he was dealing with a bad thumb, recovery from surgery, a bad wrist, and recovery from that surgery. He may not be the next Ray Allen, but he was starting to hit his threes towards the end. He needs some minutes and attempts before we can say he can't shoot. Edwards is supposed to be a knock down shooter and he couldn't hit. From what I've seen Langford's a better shooter than Rondo or Smart were at this point in his careers. Not many young players can suddenly pop off the bench and be a knock down shooter. When a player hasn't gotten enough minutes and touches to get into the flow after two surgeries on his shooting hand I think it might affect our perception.