It’s time to just accept the Niang actuality

For the previous couple of years, I’ve maintained a small offseason custom as a Celtics enjoyer. For each commerce, signing or draft choose made by Boston, I wait patiently for a Tomasz Kordylewski YouTube notification to drop for the brand new acquisition’s multi-minute spotlight reel.

It doesn’t matter how well-acquainted I’m of the participant in query, I simply get a small rush of enthusiasm out of the behavior. When it got here to Georges Niang’s 9-minute lengthy compilation, I pushed it apart and waited for a commerce.

And waited.

And waited.

Absolutely, Georges Niang – the trash-talking, spherical mound of shootaround who was labeled as a C-list villain (at finest) for the Celtics fanbase – was simply an $8 million expiring detour on the way in which to better cap flexibility, proper?

Because it stands now, that doesn’t appear to be the case, with crew social media posts welcoming him (and different rumored re-route candidate Anfernee Simons) to the crew, adopted by an announcement and press convention from Brad Stevens that strongly hinted on the present roster being the overall expectation for Opening Night time.

“Niang has added worth to profitable to every crew he’s been on. He’s a ache to play towards, which I very a lot admire,” stated Stevens in his Tuesday press convention.

This has not gone over properly with many followers. It’s not hyperbole to say that Georges Niang would be the most disliked Celtics acquisition in years. Getting into any of the remark sections of official Celtics social media posts about Niang requires a hazmat swimsuit and a willingness to witness digital chaos.

Understandably, the 2023 seven-game sequence with Philadelphia performs a task in that, particularly Niang’s knee-grabbing antics on Jaylen Brown, together with a further (albeit muted) look within the Cleveland playoff sequence in 2024, nevertheless it’s additionally simply the kind of participant Niang is that rubs opponents the improper means, and that’s largely by his personal design as a trash-spewing rotation participant.

Niang lives to get beneath the pores and skin, and it’s clearly efficient, partially as a result of he’s a modestly efficient scoring risk and since he exudes a uncommon self-awareness of the truth that he’s not “The Man” and he talks prefer it.

A task participant speaking trash? Looks like a straightforward retort for the opposition, but Niang appears to be cognizant of the very fact. Certainly, the Minivan understands which spots he can parallel in and that are finest left to compact automobiles.

All this to say, Niang is probably not the man you need, however he’s the man you might have, and if we take a slight step again, there are at the very least some causes to carry an optimistic view of the scenario.

Niang could also be a profession unfavorable on the defensive finish, solely reaching a constructive Defensive Field Plus-Minus as soon as prior to now 5 years (with the 2020-21 Utah Jazz, ranked fourth within the league in defensive ranking), however he’s a decent offensive contributor that shot 40% from the 3-point line in six of the final seven seasons.

And whereas Niang is simply a median finisher on the rim (with under common burst and on-ball creation), the methods through which he generates pictures are conducive to scrub offensive construction. Niang spends the majority of his time as a display and roll/pop man (96% percentile in Choose & Roll/Pop/Slip frequency per Basketball Index) and as a fringe shooter. At this stage in his profession, he is without doubt one of the extra environment friendly catch-and-shoot specialists within the league (40.8% C&S on threes).

He holds gravity as a shooter as a result of he performs properly off the gravity of others. There’s worth in that. Add in a wing group that already options Sam Hauser and Baylor Scheierman, and the 3-point ideology of current Celtics groups can nonetheless maintain true exterior of the first creation of Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard and Derrick White.

Full disclosure, I’ve by no means thought of myself a very huge fan of Niang, like many Celtics followers, however I’m nothing if not an optimist, or at the very least somebody empathetic to what’s probably a really uncomfortable scenario for Niang as he joins a fanbase that has collectively welcomed him with arms behind their again and a tomato in hand. That is removed from a straightforward promote for a lot of, however the least we will do is maintain an open thoughts till video games are performed and proof is displayed.

Finally, Niang is probably going a full-season or deadline transaction away from being again within the unhealthy graces of those that by no means needed him in inexperienced within the first place. However he’s right here now, and the main focus needs to be to readjust to the areas he may help the crew somewhat than the methods to do away with him.