Georges Niang
Georges Niang, whose contract isn’t guaranteed for 2019-20, had an up and down season where he found himself with and without playing time throughout the year. When Thabo Sefolosha was out earlier in the year, Niang found himself in the rotation. However, later on minutes would become hard to come by for a while. But then in the playoffs, he found himself contributing yet again.
He had some nice moments in the playoffs, but overall he wasn’t all that efficient. However, he did shoot a promising 41 percent from deep in 59 games played in the regular season, so I’d say he did an admirable job of proving his worth, especially at a salary of just over $1.5 million. His athletic shortcomings will likely prevent him from ever being a key part of the rotation, but his energy, long-range shooting ability and basketball IQ keep him an intriguing role player off the bench.
Considering that the Jazz have options on his contract moving forward, they could decide to let him walk if they need a roster spot or trade him to sweeten a deal. However, I believe the Jazz like what they’ve found in Niang and are likely to hold on to him. Especially for a team that lacks shooting prowess, Georges is a nice fall-back option, particularly when he could be retained for pennies on the dollar over the course of the next two seasons.
This is far from a guarantee as Niang isn’t anything close to crucial for the Jazz, but considering how well he’s developed, how efficient his contract is and the potential that still remains in him, I predict that the Jazz will very well bring Georges back yet again to continue to be a part of what they hope will transform into a complete and promising roster.
My guess is if he is on a new team next year, it’ll be because Utah included him as extra value in a trade package, not because they simply turned him away.
Verdict: Likely to stay