NBA Mock Draft 2019: The Pelicans are in the driver’s seat
Romeo Langford. 13. player. 110. . G. Indiana
As with Bruno Fernando, our scouting notes come from Indiana’s Jan. 11 loss to the Terrapins on the road:
- Everything he does comes off as very inexperienced and raw, assuredly not helped by the lack of consistent talent around him at Indiana.
- Langford’s high, slow jump shot involves a lot of his dominant hand and the release on the shot is inconsistent from one attempt to the next. His jumper will need to be tweaked at the next level after shooting just 27 percent from deep as a freshman.
- Already has the functional strength and handling ability to create good shots for himself and others out of the post.
- Not much of a pick-and-roll threat yet. Langford lacks straight-line drive explosiveness and instead takes meandering loops toward the basket that rely on his elite positional speed to charge past his defender. That won’t work on NBA wings.
- Ditto for his man defense, as he was already getting shoved around in the Big 10 and will need to get bigger and stronger to defend wings in the NBA.
- Creative ball-handling ability helps him make up for a relative lack of athleticism. He will dart through space outside the scripted play, deny screens or attack a mismatch when he sees it. However, he stands almost completely still when he doesn’t have the ball, rarely cutting or filling space to stretch the floor.
While Langford is a very raw player, his 6-6 frame, defensive upside and playmaking ability are interesting, particularly in this weak draft class. Miami is a team that is great at nurturing good playmaking habits for guys at every position, makes sure the ball keeps moving, and also will be a great place for Langford to improve his physicality and strength.
It may seem like the Heat are picking up the crumbs of a top-heavy draft, but Langford was thought of as a top-10 talent early in the season and still has that upside. Erik Spoelstra and his staff can bring it out of him.