It’s time to accept the Niang reality

For the previous few years, I’ve maintained a small offseason custom as a Celtics enjoyer. For each commerce, signing or draft decide 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 categorized as a C-list villain (at finest) for the Celtics fanbase – was simply an $8 million expiring detour on the way in which to higher cap flexibility, proper?

Because it stands now, that doesn’t appear to be the case, with staff social media posts welcoming him (and different rumored re-route candidate Anfernee Simons) to the staff, adopted by a press release 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 staff he’s been on. He’s a ache to play in opposition to, which I very a lot admire,” stated Stevens in his Tuesday press convention.

This has not gone over effectively 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 go well with 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, however it’s additionally simply the kind of participant Niang is that rubs opponents the mistaken approach, and that’s largely by his personal design as a trash-spewing rotation participant.

Niang lives to get underneath the pores and skin, and it’s clearly efficient, partly 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 job participant speaking trash? Looks like a straightforward retort for the opposition, but Niang appears to be cognizant of the actual fact. Certainly, the Minivan understands which spots he can parallel in and that are finest left to compact automobiles.

All this to say, Niang will not be the man you need, however he’s the man you’ve gotten, and if we take a slight step again, there are a minimum of some causes to carry an optimistic view of the scenario.

Niang could also be a profession adverse on the defensive finish, solely reaching a optimistic Defensive Field Plus-Minus as soon as up 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 beneath common burst and on-ball creation), the methods wherein he generates pictures are conducive to scrub offensive construction. Niang spends the majority of his time as a display screen 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 likely 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 effectively 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 large fan of Niang, like many Celtics followers, however I’m nothing if not an optimist, or a minimum of 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 are able to do is hold an open thoughts till video games are performed and proof is displayed.

In the end, Niang is probably going a full-season or deadline transaction away from being again within the dangerous 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 must be to readjust to the areas he may help the staff quite than the methods to do away with him.