Boston Celtics rookie wing Romeo Langford has been reassigned to the Celtics’ G League affiliate — the Maine Red Claws — ahead of a weekend that will see Boston play the Golden State Warriors on Friday and the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
The Red Claws will play the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and the Raptors 905 on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
With former New Orleans Pelicans lead assistant Darren Erman as Maine’s head coach, expect the Red Claws — who exploded for 140 points in the season opener in a game that Langford was unstoppable in — to continue to aid Langford in his development, as Boston has opted to play rookie guard Javonte Green in place of the injured Gordon Hayward rather than Langford.
We have assigned Romeo Langford to the @maineredclaws #FlywireTeamTransactions
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 14, 2019
Green, an athletic and highly efficient wing who provides value on both ends of the ball, has played 11.5 minutes per game in his last four contests. While those are numbers fitting for a player at the bottom of the rotation, that’s exactly where Green is, as players like guard Marcus Smart — starting in place of Hayward and averaging 36.2 minutes per game over his last two contest — are elevated in the rotation.
Langford will get plenty of more playing time in Maine, where he played 32.2 minutes in the season opener.
Despite being the 14th overall pick, it’s Carsen Edwards (the 33rd overall pick) and Brad Wanamaker getting the majority of the minutes in the second unit backcourt at 13.1 and 11.9 minutes per game, respectively. This seems likely to be the case for the season, expect in the case of major injury and even then Green seems to be ahead of Langford in the rotation.
Consequently, expectations for Langford this season may have to be tempered, as he appears set to spend plenty of time in Portland this season.