Former Jazz PF Georges Niang, 76ers Agree to 2-Year, $6.7M Contract

The Philadelphia 76ers improved their depth Tuesday when they agreed to a two-year, $6.7 million deal with forward Georges Niang, per NBA reporter Marc Stein.

Niang entered the league in 2016 as a second-round pick out of Iowa State and played the last four seasons for the Utah Jazz after playing his rookie campaign for the Indiana Pacers.

The 28-year-old is coming off a career season in Utah in which he averaged 6.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from three-point range.

He wasn't a primary contributor on a team that featured Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic and others, but he was a solid presence off the bench who provided important outside shooting and capable wing defense.

The shooting stands out for a 76ers team that needed more of it during its second-round playoff loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Spacing is a concern with Ben Simmons as a primary ball-handler and Joel Embiid in the frontcourt, and Niang is someone who can play alongside both and hit open looks from the corner and the wing.

Danny Green is also a free agent this offseason, so Philadelphia may need to replace his outside shooting in 2021-22 if he doesn't return.

Niang can help do just that while improving the team's overall defense. Opponents shot 1.1 percent worse overall and 5.6 percent worse from three-point range than their normal averages when he guarded them in 2020-21, per NBA.com.

As long as he continues to play defense like that and hits his outside shots, Niang can be an important addition for the 76ers.