CHICAGO — The newest member of the Spurs, Romeo Langford, has not had the start to his NBA career as he'd envisioned.
He's been beset by injuries since his rookie season starting with an ankle injury he suffered when he was with the G League's Red Claws in November 2019.
The injury was severe enough to require surgery and was shelved for the remainder of the 2019-20 Celtics season.
"It's a fresh start for me," Langford said. "I get to start from square one again. I'm just happy to be here."
Langford was part of the Derrick White trade ahead of the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline. He has NBA career averages of 3.6 points per game including 1.9 rebounds and 38% shooting from the field.
However, the 22-year old never really got a crack at the Boston rotation.
Following injuries from his rookie season, he did not make his sophomore debut until April 2021. He found himself in and out of the Celtics rotation until he was traded to the Spurs.
He's shown flashes of what he can do especially during the Celtics' 2021 playoffs (scoring a career-high 17 points versus the Nets) but never realized his full potential that made him the No. 14 pick overall in 2019.
Now he is ready to contribute to the rebuilding Spurs.
"I just know that there are a lot of young guys. [They're] really good and rebuilding," Langford said.
Said Langford: "Just whatever is needed. There's a lot of guys here that can do the same thing. just depends on what night and what the team needs at the time."
The good news is Langford is still young in his pro-career and the Spurs player development process could do wonders for him.
"I'm glad to be in San Antonio," he said. "A great organization."
And helping him in the transition to the is a bit of familiarity with the Spurs' system.
With former Spurs coaches Ime Udoka and Will Hardy in Boston, Langford noticed some similar things running in Boston that started in San Antonio.
"A little bit. I can see things they try to implement in Boston when I was there," Langford said. "Like here at shootaround."
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5