Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards and Tremont Waters all descended on the Auerbach Center for the first time on Monday from across the country as the team unveiled the quartet while surrounded by family, team personnel and the media at an introductory press conference in Allston. Here's a collection of some noteworthy tidbits from an eventful day for the rookies:
Romeo Langford may not play summer league: The 19-year-old swingman is still recovering from tendon surgery on his thumb after playing for most of the last season with the injury at Indiana with the injury.
"A week-and-a-half ago doctors cleared me," Langford said. "She wants me to shoot, just don’t go too overboard with it. If my thumb starts hurting, that’s when they want me to stop and take a break."
The team will make a decision on his status in the next few days, according to Danny Ainge, but the Indiana product is eager to show the world what he can with a clean bill of health.
"I felt like I was able to show some things I was capable of doing," Langford said. "But I also feel like there’s also many other things that I felt like I’m good at also that I wasn’t able to showcase as well during the time at Indiana. But I’m just glad to be a Celtic right now."
Langford played through his thumb injury for his teammates: After being diagnosed with the thumb injury early in his season at Indiana, Langford could have opted for season-ending surgery right away ahead of a path to the NBA Draft. Instead, he played through the pain and was a top scorer for the Hoosiers in the midst of a disappointing campaign for the Big Ten power. The motive for that sacrifice? Langford felt a duty to be there for his teammates.
"The main thing is I just wanted to be there for my team," he explained. "I didn’t want to let my team down. Wanted to be there for my brothers. I didn’t want them to think I was just sitting out. I knew I could play through it. Also, I knew I could not play basketball for that long of a time, when I knew I could play through it. I was raised to be tough-minded and do stuff like that. That’s what it came down to."
Langford ultimately decided to undergo surgery in March once the team was eliminated from NCAA Tournament contention but there is no question that Langford's stock and shooting splits (27 percent from 3-point range) was negatively impacted by him playing through the injury.
"It was a whole new experience," Langford said of playing with a cast. "No one plays basketball with a cast on their thumb and be able to throw the ball sometimes. Took a lot to get used to, so it was harder to shoot. Whole different feeling of the ball without using your thumb. But towards the end of the season, I got more used to it and started shooting the ball better. ... It made me switch up my shot a little bit. I wasn’t feeling like it did normally, so now that's one of my big focuses is to get my mechanics back, and my shot to get back to where it used to be."
All of the Celtics rookies have a lot of respect for each other's game: Langford and Edwards went toe-to-toe in the Big Ten last year, while Waters and Williams battled in the SEC for the past few seasons. The sense of familiarity is very apparent for all parties, particularly when they asked to describe each other's games. Edwards, in particular, raved about his new teammates.
"Playing Romeo, we played him twice, obviously with our scouting report everything was based on him and just making things difficult for him," Edwards said. "He can get to the basket whenever he wants. He can get to his spots. He can make tough shots and everything so really just making it tough for him, because we understand he can make shots, so just being able to make things as tough possible is our main goal. But even with what we do it was tough to just stop him completely.
"And with Grant, his resume says it for himself. He wins awards. He defends. His athleticism, people I feel like people don’t mention it, but he’s athletic, he’s physical, he can do a lot. It’s a tough guard for all these guys because I’ve played against Tre at the CP3 camps and I don’t feel like there’s much he lacks. He can dribble it, he can pass it, he can shoot it. He does it all. He can defend, make it difficult. So good group of guys here."
Edwards might be a better defender than anticipated: He looks like a liability to scouts based on his 6-foot-1 size but Williams made a point of declaring just how tough the former pursue guard is when he gets put into tough spots on the defensive end.
"He knows he can light it up from range and he’s a guy who’s physical enough to guard," Williams said. "He can switch 2-4 in the league and hold his own because I call him 'little bullet,' because he how stock and strong he is. Little linebacker. He’s a guy who, I know he loves that left hand, but he can go both ways. He a really talented offensive player and his resume speaks for itself."
For a team that struggled mightily with slowing down guards in the backcourt last year, Edwards may be able to bring more help in that area than expected for a player that's known for his scoring.
"I mean at Purdue, obviously this is a whole different level in the NBA, but at Purdue, we’d switch four ways, which means we’d switch 1 through 4," Edwards said. "So like if (the) four man screens me, we’d switch. I mean, I’m still working to be the best I can on the defensive end and offensive end, but I mean honestly, if Coach asks me to guard a four off the switch or anything, I’m just going to give my best and try to, and just be as physical as I can.
Tremont Waters will be a fun underdog to root for as a New England product: The SEC defensive player of the year grew up in New Haven, making him eager to suit up for a franchise close to home.
"It was a blessing, just coming from my hometown in New Haven, Conn., a lot of guys don’t make it out," Waters said. "To enjoy the moment I had to put everything in the past behind me and go to the draft, great experience. My parents and girlfriend were able to experience it with me, and one of my brothers, just to walk down the stairs and up there was a surreal experience for me."
After being drafted at No. 51, Waters may end up on a two-way contract if he does not make the 15-man roster, but he knows he has plenty of doubters as a 5-foot-11 guard despite his stellar college career.
"I feel like a pick is just a number, I should be a first-round pick," he said. "I definitely feel that way. I was picked 51st, and it’s not a grudge, but I’m definitely trying to prove something, like Isaiah Thomas was a smaller guard who came into the league with a lot of doubters who stayed true to himself and had the heart that he had."
Waters also carefully navigated a mention of one of his idols in Kyrie Irving before the All-Star heads out the door of Boston.
"This might touch some people, but growing up in high school I watched a lot of Kyrie Irving video, and the way he spins the ball and uses angles off the backboard and everything," Waters said. "Those type of mechanics, I grew up doing the same things. No hard feelings towards him, he’s actually one of my favorite point guards. I know it’s a business, but I had to say that."
Grant Williams should be loved on and off the court: He's earned high marks for his on-court IQ in scouting reports, navigating the paint as an efficient 6-foot-7 power forward. The smarts translate off the floor as well though as he turned down scholarship options at Ivy League schools in order to play SEC basketball at Tennessee. The 20-year-old has a very outgoing personality which should make him a welcome fit in a locker room that wasn't having much fun last year.
“It’s honestly pretty funny. I’m still probably a pretty goofy guy, I’m pretty nerdy, still, on the court because I don’t talk trash. I’m a guy that loves to compete. I’m the same way. It’s kinda like when I play card games, or you should see when I play Catan, I’m just a pretty competitive guy, so I feel like that just brings it out of me. I love winning, I love adding to winning. For me, it’s always been about finding a way to do that any way possible and that’s where I think that toughness and that competitive edge comes from.”
Williams also seems like a bit of a leader of the pack after pulling his fellow rookies together on Sunday night after they all arrived in Boston.
“He’s a good dude, man," Edwards explained. "He’s a good dude. I feel like your perception for him watching him play, he’s a physical player that plays really hard. But then off the floor, he’s actually a really nice guy. He’s a smart guy. Like, yesterday we were talking on FaceTime and I had just gotten into Boston. And he was like, ‘Do you want to play games?’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, I just got here.’ He’s like, ‘I play board games too.’ It’s just stuff you don’t expect, but he’s a really good dude. And I’m excited to be around him and get to know him more as a person.”