The Utah Jazz made the right call by bringing Georges Niang back. He's a veteran presence for the younger guys, he won't take too much time away from their young talent, and he knows Utah pretty darn well. The Jazz did not make a mistake re-acquiring him. The only problem is that doing so could potentially make the Boston Celtics one of the Jazz's biggest competitors in the tanking game.
The Celtics were the NBA Champions a mere 14 months ago. However, when it rains, it pours, and in Boston, it has flooded. Jayson Tatum is likely out for the season because of an Achilles tear. They then had to trade Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to cut down on payroll. Now they've lost Luke Kornet and Al Horford is next.
They acquired Niang primarily in their efforts to cut down payroll, so trading him to Utah cuts it down even more. At the same time, Niang was one of the very few proven veterans Boston still has on its roster. Before they traded him, their only proven players in their prime are Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Anfernee Simons, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Chris Boucher.
Besides them, Boston has a bunch of young players who haven't proven much along with Xavier Tillman, who looks like he's past his prime. While the East isn't exactly a bloodbath right now, it's not too crazy to suggest that if Boston might tank their season away.
It's not like Niang would have been a huge difference maker for them, but trading him away is a pretty good indicator of where Boston wants their season to go. Because of unfortunate circumstances, the Jazz may have another tanking competitor soon enough from the very team Danny and Austin Ainge used to run.
The one advantage the Jazz have over the Celtics in tanking
Anything could change when the 2025-26 season starts, but it wouldn't surprise anyone if two months into the season, the Celtics spontaneously start seeing their players suffer mysterious injuries that keep them out for some time.
Whether they do or not, Utah has one distinct advantage: pretty much everyone in the West is trying to win, while the East has multiple teams trying to tank. The New Orleans Pelicans were not too far from the Jazz last season, but that wasn't intentional and it was injuries that sank them.
The Celtics will have to deal with Brooklyn, Washington, Charlotte, and Chicago. While not all of them are confirmed to be tanking, they're not too far away and are definitely closer currently to it than Boston.
It's not fun to know Utah won't be alone in their efforts to get another high lottery pick, but at least they should still have an edge.