Boston Celtics team president Danny Ainge spoke to the press via remote press conference Tuesday morning hours after the team broke news that All-Star point guard Kemba Walker and second-year wing Romeo Langford will miss the start of the season as they recover from injury.
Ainge spoke about the decision-making guiding roster construction given the news, which has been to look for guys who “play off of Jaylen [Brown], Jayson [Tatum], Marcus [Smart] and Kemba, and guys who can take a bigger role when they’re resting or sitting on the bench.”
He also spoke on whether the team would try and add additional depth to shore up gaps in the roster to start the season.
Celtics announce Walker out until Jan. with knee stem cell injection procedure https://t.co/GW6SKgzjk7
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 1, 2020
Ainge noted the team has a nearly full roster with 16 guaranteed deals counting the two way players, and suggested the team was happy with the roster for the moment.
The Celtics chief also said that this will be “an opportunity for Marcus [Smart] to play some point guard for us” along with Tremont Waters and newly-signed guards Jeff Teague and Payton Pritchard.
The state of Walker’s knee was the elephant in the room behind those gaps in the rotation, and Ainge sounded positive when addressing it.
Celtics formally announce Tristan Thompson, Jeff Teague signings https://t.co/lNGdPD5HMN
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 30, 2020
“I think this next year will tell us a lot more,” he suggested, noting Walker is “on a program, and seems to be in a very good, happy spot.”
“Maybe we didn’t do him justice by bringing him back too fast into the bubble, being hurt and finding some urgency to get him ready for the regular season. But we don’t want to make that mistake [again], even if it was a mistake at the time.”
“I don’t want to blame anybody, but it’s not a perfect science — it’s just guesswork,” he added.
Who are potential TPE trade targets for the Boston Celtics this season? https://t.co/6PJLkvzxBg
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 30, 2020
With the New Yorker due to be re-evaluated in early January, it sounds as if Walker will miss at least the first two weeks of the season, and the Celtics have a plan to manage that absence, even if it stretches closer to February.
Ironically, the loss of Romeo Langford to the rotation may well be more of a challenge for Boston to adapt to.
But, with rookie Aaron Nesmith’s arrival, excellent play from Grant Williams to end last season and prospects like Carsen Edwards needing run at the NBA level to show growth, it seems like the club is prepared to weather an early appearance of the Hospital Celtics.
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