The Utah Jazz made a late offseason move earlier last week in the form of their move to acquire Georges Niang from the Boston Celtics.
In exchange for undrafted St. John's rookie RJ Luis, the Jazz were able to re-unite with the former Utah forward, along with acquiring an additional two future second-round picks in the process, further adding to this team's draft pick stash moving forward.
And according to a new report from NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, it appears that the new Jazz forward will be set to remain in Utah ahead of next season without another deal to re-route him elsewhere.
"Sources say Utah plans to keep veteran big man Georges Niang after reacquiring Niang this week in a trade with Boston," Fischer wrote. "The Jazz also acquired second-round picks from the Celtics in 2027 and 2031 in the trade that sent two-way guard RJ Luis to Boston. The Celtics discussed trading Niang with various teams around the league, sources say, in their continued salary-shaving campaign following the luxury-tax-slashing trades that shipped out Jrue Holiday and Porziņģis. The expectation persists, furthermore, that Boston will continue to invite trade discussion involving Anfernee Simons from now through next season's trade deadline on Feb. 5 at 3 PM ET."
With Niang set to stick in Salt Lake City for the time being, it effectively ends a hectic and busy offseason of the forward being on the move from one place to another. Following his trade deadline deal from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Atlanta Hawks in February, he would quickly be sent to Boston in July as part of the Porziņģis deal, and now finds his way in Utah as one of the more tenured veterans in the locker room.
During his time split between the Hawks and Cavaliers last season, Niang had some of the best numbers of his career, averaging 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while shooting a strong 40.6% from three.
Niang has also previously spent four years in Utah from 2017 to 2021, coming aboard after his rookie season with the Indiana Pacers, averaging 5.5 points and 1.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists a night through the 206 games he appeared in.
As for Niang's potential role in the Jazz's rotation for next season, it'll certainly be interesting to see unfold. Of course, Utah's main focus for the coming year surrounds what this young talent has in store and the development they could build, but that doesn't mean we won't see a name like Niang, or perhaps another veteran trade addition like Kyle Anderson, not appear in the rotation on occasion.
All of that being said though, expect Niang to remain as a part of the Jazz's 2025-26 roster... for now.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!