{"id":153545,"date":"2025-08-06T00:43:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T04:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=153545"},"modified":"2025-08-06T00:43:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T04:43:07","slug":"celtics-georges-niang-trade-wasnt-just-about-salary-dump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/06\/celtics-georges-niang-trade-wasnt-just-about-salary-dump\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtics\u2019 Georges Niang Trade Wasn\u2019t Just About Salary Dump"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Boston Celtics have made yet another curious offseason move, trading 32-year-old 3-point specialist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/n\/niangge01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Georges Niang<\/a> and two second-round picks to the Utah Jazz in exchange for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/luisrj01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RJ Luis Jr.<\/a>, an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract.<\/p>\n<p>On the surface, this trade was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/05\/nba-trade-grades-celtics-get-more-cap-relief-while-jazz-keep-adding-more-assets-whats-next-for-each-squad\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">more or less a salary dump<\/a>. While a rebuilding team, the Jazz are expected to absorb Niang&#8217;s 2024-25 salary ($8.2 million) in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/30\/utah-has-cap-room-to-still-make-huge-splash-interest-in-restricted-free-agents\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">the trade exception they generated<\/a> from shipping <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/collijo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Collins<\/a> to the Los Angeles Clippers. This reduced Boston&#8217;s luxury tax <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/YossiGozlan\/status\/1952825551044874634\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by $50 million<\/a>, according <em>Third Apron<\/em> salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan. For their efforts, the Jazz not only got a pair of second-rounders but a veteran that can teach their young players the nuances of professionalism.<\/p>\n<h2>Celtics\u2019 Georges Niang Trade Wasn\u2019t Just About Salary Dump<\/h2>\n<p>Though the Celtics obviously <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/05\/why-the-celtics-traded-away-georges-niang\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">wanted to reduce their bill<\/a>, the deal wasn&#8217;t just about that.<\/p>\n<p>Boston genuinely wanted Luis, per ZAGSBLOG draft expert Adam Zagoria. With that in mind, he entered the 2025 NBA Draft out of St. John&#8217;s, he played his freshman season at local UMass. That season, he averaged 11.5 points per game on 45.5 percent from the field. He also earned 10 starts, averaging 15.5 points per game in those contests.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Celtics liked RJ Luis out of the draft and wanted him specifically in this deal, per league sources<\/p>\n<p>The former <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StJohnsBBall?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@StJohnsBBall<\/a> star is on a Two-Way <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JZNdZ5zBXa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/JZNdZ5zBXa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AdamZagoria\/status\/1952836941944139941?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>As a junior in 2024-25, Luis exploded for 18.2 points per game.<\/p>\n<p>His season ended on a low note. In a nine-point loss to Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament&#8217;s Round of 32, he went just 3-17 from the field, scoring nine points. Nonetheless, his body of work shouldn&#8217;t be overshadowed by the last sentence. Nor should the pedigree he enters the NBA with.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_131512\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-131512\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-131512\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/03\/USATSI_25741716-300x190.jpg\" alt=\"RJ Luis makes shocking decision.\" width=\"300\" height=\"190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/03\/USATSI_25741716-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/03\/USATSI_25741716-1024x648.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/03\/USATSI_25741716-768x486.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/03\/USATSI_25741716-1536x972.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-131512\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mar 22, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; St. John&#8217;s Red Storm guard RJ Luis Jr. (12), guard Kadary Richmond (1) and teammates on the bench during the second half of a second round men\u2019s NCAA Tournament game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2024-25, he was a Consensus All-American. His father, Reggie Charles, was a professional basketball player who <a href=\"https:\/\/basketball.realgm.com\/player\/Reggie-Charles\/Summary\/66042\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spent 15 seasons overseas<\/a>. For the last two seasons of his college career, he was coached by Rick Pitino. The Celtics undoubtedly have a complex history with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/coaches\/pitinri99c.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their former head coach<\/a> but there&#8217;s no denying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/coaches\/rick-pitino-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">his greatness at the collegiate level<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>What Can RJ Luis Jr. Bring To The Celtics?<\/h3>\n<p>Flawed though he may be, Luis is a good get for Boston, especially on a two-way contract.<\/p>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tatumja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jayson Tatum<\/a> likely to miss at least the first half of 2025-26 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/18\/storm-clouds-loom-in-the-future-for-the-tatum-less-celtics\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">after tearing his Achilles<\/a> in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, the Celtics have a lot of minutes to fill in at forward. As a result, players like 2023 No. 38 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/walshjo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jordan Walsh<\/a> and 2025 No. 28 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gonzahu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hugo Gonzalez<\/a> have a real chance of barging into the rotation. In a vacuum, they&#8217;re both rotation-caliber forwards but they&#8217;re raw, particularly offensively. That being said, if they&#8217;re trying to step into Tatum&#8217;s shoes, their limitations at that end are problematic.<\/p>\n<p>Tatum&#8217;s one of the most dangerous scorers in the league, averaging 27.5 points per game over the past five seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Luis probably won&#8217;t explode onto the season looking like a perennial All-Star. Still, he&#8217;s a more masterful scorer than either Walsh or Gonzalez right now. In the open court, he&#8217;s exciting, like many athletic wings with his length (6-foot-7). Yet, he&#8217;s not refined to impacting the game on the break.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tdFmOjNQmu4?si=MU3-pi8enfbH803K\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In the halfcourt, he&#8217;s able to use his handle and footwork to create space whether in the drive or in the post. Indeed, utilizing his instincts and body control, he&#8217;s actually pretty nifty with the ball in his hands. He even follows up his own shot, leading to frequent putbacks. Though he doesn&#8217;t have elite efficiency in any area, he&#8217;s a multifaceted offensive player who also has a knack for playmaking, particularly with regard to pocket passes.<\/p>\n<p>To improve his efficiency, he should cut down on his off-the-dribble attempts due to his tendency to take tough jumpers. All the same, while Boston waits for Tatum to return, the 22-year-old could play an important role.<\/p>\n<div class=\"modal-image-setImageMetadata\">\n<p class=\"ng-binding\">\u00a9 David Butler II-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Boston Celtics have made yet another curious offseason move, trading 32-year-old 3-point specialist Georges Niang and two second-round picks to the Utah Jazz in exchange for RJ Luis Jr., an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract. On the surface, this trade was more or less a salary dump. While a rebuilding team, the Jazz [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":153558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1608,62,556,3,4721,24],"tags":[50184,798,50234,4745,4774,1382,50233],"class_list":["post-153545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celtics","category-basketball","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-news","category-trade-rumors","category-jazz","tag-hugo-gonzalez","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-jodan-walsh","tag-nba-injuries","tag-rumors","tag-nba-trade","tag-rj-luis-jr"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153545"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153557,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153545\/revisions\/153557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}