Veteran Danny Green raves about Sixers addition of Georges Niang
The Philadelphia 76ers are bringing a large majority of their roster back from a team that finished as the No. 1 seed in the East in the 2020-21 season, but they did make some tweaks. They made a few offseason additions to bolster the bench and continue to grow the team that they believe will pay off.
One of those additions is Georges Niang who comes to Philadelphia after helping the Utah Jazz earn the No. 1 seed in the West in the previous season. He is a guy who will be looking to bring his all-around game to the Sixers and help them space the floor and take the next step forward as a team.
In the preseason, he showed an ability to bring the ball up the floor as well as stretch the floor on offense with his 3-point shooting as well as being able to play team defense. His work and his effort have caught the eye of veteran guard Danny Green.
“He’s like the Army Swiss knife for us,” Green beamed. “He does a little bit of everything. I like that nickname for him. Some call him The Minivan, some guys call him The Sprinter, some call him the Army Swiss knife.”
Niang did end up shooting 42.5% from deep on 4.1 attempts for the Jazz in 2020-21 and he averaged 15.6 points per 36 minutes. That production is going to be very helpful for Philadelphia’s second unit.
“He’s a great shooter, a high IQ player, can handle the ball a little bit for DHOs, pick-and-roll, slash, he can do a little bit of everything,” Green added. “He does all the things we need him to do, blue-collar guy, he’s the ultimate team player, he’s gonna fit right in, and have that second group moving the ball well.”
Obviously, things could change for Niang with the addition of Ben Simmons returning to the floor, but for Niang and his mindset, he is not worried about that situation. He’s been taught a long time ago that he just needs to worry about himself and focus on being who he is.
“I am here and I have been told a long time ago I stay in my lane because when you start getting out of your lane, that’s when you get hit by a Mac truck,” Niang joked. “I stay in my lane, I show up to work every day, and do what I need to do to help the team win.”
Like the Sixers, Niang and the Jazz were eliminated in Round 2 of the playoffs despite being the No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences. The veteran out of Iowa State wants to bring a hunger to the Sixers after the failure and he wants to help this team win a title right now moving forward.
“I think I’ve said it before, I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth how I got eliminated from the playoffs and I’m sure the Sixers feel the same way,” he finished. “So I want to use that momentum going forward to bring a championship here.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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