Georges Niang we hardly knew ya!
The Methuen native’s dream of becoming a Boston Celtic lasted less than a month.
He was traded to the Utah Jazz on Thursday with two future second-round draft picks in exchange for undrafted rookie R.J. Luis Jr.
That deal coincided with a separate deal when the Celtics signed power forward Chris Boucher for one-year, $3.3 million. Boucher has spent the past seven seasons with the Toronto Raptors.
It has been a whirlwind offseason for Niang, who has made the North Shore his full-time home. He returns to Utah, where he played for four seasons, establishing himself as a full-fledged NBA player.
The trade to Boston had some red flags, including the fact that Niang was never officially introduced as a Celtics via a press conference.
The Celtics have shed a lot of salaries trying to get under the second apron and his $8.2 million price tag for 2025-26 was up for grabs.
If the Celtics decided to keep Kristaps Porzingis, who was part of the original Niang deal and Jrue Holiday, they would’ve been in position to pay nearly $280 million in “penalties.”
This move might mean the Celtics have move moves coming – Anfernee Simons, acquired for Holiday, has two years and $53.5 million, and Sam Hauser has four years at about $11.5 million per year.
It also means next season will not be championship-driven Celtics season we’ve seen the last half-dozen years, particularly without Jayson Tatum, recovering from a torn Achilles.
Niang joins a Jazz team that has nowhere to go but up, finishing with an NBA worst record of 17-65.
After he was traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers at the trade deadline, his numbers rose, finishing with a career best average of 12.1 over his 28 games in Atlanta.