Utah Jazz: Could Georges Niang become the next Royce O’Neale?

Now that Georges Niang is officially a part of the Utah Jazz roster, it will be exciting to see if he can follow in the footsteps of last year’s diamond in the rough Royce O’Neale.

A number of reports indicated on Friday evening that the Utah Jazz have officially signed G-League and Summer League standout Georges Niang to a multi-year contract. This is an exciting announcement for Jazz fans (whether they realize it or not) as Niang has been stellar in recent outings dating back to the 2017-18 G-League season.

It’s even more exciting for Niang himself who has worked his tail off to get to this point. There’s something extremely gratifying about witnessing a player fall out of the league and work his way in, which is exactly what Georges has been able to do.

When the Jazz opted to waive veteran forward Jonas Jerebko, there was ample speculation that the motive behind doing so was precisely intended to open up a spot for Niang. Now we know that such was indeed the case.

According to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune, the first year of Niang’s deal is guaranteed while the following season is a team option. Furthermore, this contract isn’t just a training camp formality. Instead, Niang is expected to indeed earn the 15th and final spot on Utah’s roster.

Unsurprisingly, with the Jazz adding Grayson Allen in the draft and now signing Niang, it would appear that David Stockton will likely be cut prior to the start of the season to officially create the required space.

In my opinion, Niang is absolutely deserving of this contract. He has been nothing but superb in recent games and was incredible with the Salt Lake City Stars last season. In 15 games played with the Stars, Niang put up 22 points per contest on 60.6 percent shooting from the field and an incredible 52.7 percent from deep. He also added 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and a steal per contest while shooting 91.7 percent from the free throw line.

And now that he’s officially a part of the Jazz team, one can’t help but wonder if he might be the team’s next diamond in the rough. Or perhaps, dare I say it, the next Royce O’Neale.

O’Neale was signed to similar terms as Niang when he got his contract. He was given a multi-year agreement with only the first season guaranteed. Many presumed that O’Neale would simply be waived prior to the season and wouldn’t even make the team. Instead, he made the cut and was placed on the 15-man roster.

From there, still hardly anybody expected Royce to see much, if any, playing time. Even with Dante Exum going down with a shoulder injury, it would have been rare for the team’s 15th man to see any action.

But despite those doubts, O’Neale proved them all wrong and worked his way into becoming a rotation player, and even a starter due to injury, on a playoff team. He figures to be a major part of Utah’s plans next season as a 3-and-D player, with significant emphasis on the “D”. Royce is a force to be reckoned with on defense, which is really what earned him playing time in the first place.

So the question is, can Niang follow in his footsteps? The Jazz appear pretty deep at the four-spot with Derrick Favors, Jae Crowder and Thabo Sefolosha, so it might be tough for Niang to break into the rotation. Then again, it looked that way for O’Neale as well, but he found a way.

Honestly, I can’t predict whether or not Niang will do the same or even if he’ll get the chance. If everyone on the Jazz stays healthy, it might be hard for him to ever really receive a fair shake. However, I do think there is a very legitimate chance that he could be the real deal. For those who haven’t watched Georges, he’s versatile, crafty and has a sweet shot.

If his G-League and Summer League numbers are any indication, he could very well be a better deep-ball threat than any of Utah’s power forwards, despite the heightened competition found in the NBA. He’s a little undersized for his position, but he has the savviness and hustle to make up for some of his physical shortcomings.

The Jazz have long been searching for an ideal playmaking stretch-four. If Niang can continue his upward trajectory of development, he may very well be able to be molded into a player worthy of that role, surprising the doubters just like O’Neale was able to.

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I personally am excited to have Niang in the fold. While I was sad to see Jerebko go, the Jazz haven’t been shy about the confidence they have in their development program. Georges Niang is a relentless worker who they obviously believe will be able to thrive in that system. At just 25 years old, there’s plenty of reason to believe that he can yet become a solid NBA role player.

The Jazz have the track record and Niang has the work ethic. Put those together and, now that he has an official contract, it’s completely realistic to expect him to do great things.