New Boston Celtics forward Georges Niang kept it real in unpacking how the Celtics faithful must feel about his arrival to his hometown team this summer. The 6-foot-7 power forward is a native of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
In an effort to save money ahead of what they’re anticipating will be a lost season sans injured All-Star forward Jayson Tatum, Boston flipped former starting center Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks for Niang and a second round pick as part of a three-team exchange with the Brooklyn Nets.
During an appearance on former Miami Heat champions Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller’s “The OGs” podcast, Niang admitted that represented a significant qualitative drop-off from Porzingis, a 3-and-D center who can score from anywhere and — if he could stay healthy long enough — would have made far more than just one All-Star appearance.
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“You know, I’m a Boston kid. I then get traded for Kristaps Porzingis — which, you know how tough Boston fans are. They don’t give a s— if I’m from Boston or not,” Niang said. “You just took our Unicorn and replaced it with a Minivan. Get the f— outta here.’ I’m like public enemy No. 1. They’re like, ‘What is this? This ain’t shiny. It’s got scratches on it, man.”
Splitting his 2024-25 season between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks, the 32-year-old averaged a career-best 9.9 points on .461/.406/.793 shooting splits, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per bout.
Porzingis, in just 42 healthy games for the 61-21 Celtics, averaged 19.5 points on .483/.412/.809 shooting splits, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 blocks and 0.7 steals a night. That scoring average is the third-best rate on the team, behind just All-Stars Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
“You don’t want to be in Boston losing, that’s for sure,” Niang added. “What can I do this summer? Can I come in, in the best shape that I’m in, and also mentor, and kind of teach, and also learn — because they’ve won championships. And kind of dial all that into one, and focus every day on how can I win the day, and then win games.”
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