The Celtics made a second massive trade of the offseason less than 24 hours since their first one. The C’s moved Kristaps Porzingis in a three-team deal with the Hawks and Nets, saving them a significant amount of money in the process. In the deal, the Celtics landed Georges Niang and a second-round pick.
Niang, 32, is a local product as he starred in the New England area during his prep days. The veteran forward was born in Lawrence before growing up in Methuen. He starred at Tilton (N.H.) School and Boston AAU power BABC locally before playing at Iowa State collegiately.
Niang last year started the season on the Cavaliers before being traded to the Hawks as part of the De’Andre Hunter trade. He averaged 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists across 79 games (three starts) for the two teams last season.
Niang is a longtime veteran as he enters his 10th season in the NBA. He was drafted 50th overall by the Pacers in the 2016 draft. Niang had to work his way up in the NBA as he carved out a career. He’s also played for the Jazz and 76ers during his career. Notably, he’s a career 39.9% 3-point shooter, which should fit well in Boston.
Niang is still a useful player at this point of his career, but the trade for the power forward was financially motivated with Boston facing a historic tax bill. Niang earns only $8.2 million next season in the final year of his contract. That’s a $22.5 million reduction in salary from Porzingis ($30 million) for the 2025-26 season. The cost savings reduced Boston’s total payroll commitment to $203 million for next season, which puts the team four million dollars clear of the second apron ($207 million).
Boston’s ability to get the Nets involved in this deal as a third team paved the way for cost savings. The Hawks were required to send out $22 million in a deal for Porzingis, but Boston only had to take $8 million back (Niang) since the Nets were willing to absorb Terance Mann into their open cap space. The Nets also got a second-round pick for absorbing Mann’s deal, but that was an easy price to pay for Boston for offloading so much salary.
If the Celtics elect to keep Niang for next season, he will be a viable power forward option for Boston off the bench, which could be important for a team that is expected to be without Jayson Tatum for potentially the entire season after suffering a torn Achilles.
Story by Souichi Terada, Brian Robb, masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.
