The Atlanta Hawks traded Georges Niang as a matching salary for Kristaps Porzingis this offseason, which was a lucky move in retrospect, as Niang has yet to play this season after suffering a stress fracture in his fourth metatarsal.
Niang sustained the injury on September 27th, but he was set to be reevaluated in two weeks – still before the season started. The Jazz likely expected (or hoped for) him to return either before or immediately after their season opener against the Clippers in late October. But each time an injury report provides an update on Niang, the timeline for a return keeps getting pushed back.
The Hawks acquired Niang in the De’Andre Hunter trade (which has aged quite well for Atlanta). He was simply matching salary, but Niang was quite effective for a player whose contract was dumped.
Niang dropped 12.1 points and 2.1 assists in 23 minutes of action a night on a scorching 41.3% clip from three. While we only have a 28-game sample of Niang in a Hawks uniform, his point and assist totals would be career highs, and his three point percentage would be his second-highest. He was thrust into a larger role than anticipated when the Hawks suffered a disastrous series of injuries in the back half of the season and impressed as a low-usage veteran.
Niang still has not suited up in a Jazz uniform
Niang’s injury situation is heartbreaking. Stress fractures are the scariest broken bones in the NBA, and Niang’s absence has put the potential long-term consequences of such an injury on full display. Most famously, Joel Embiid suffered a stress fracture while a Kansas Jayhawk, which ultimately held the future MVP out for his first two NBA seasons.
While these injuries are reason for concern, many players who suffer stress fractures resume their NBA careers with little more than a hiccup. Kevin Durant suffered a similar injury before the 2014-15 season and went on to have minimal, if any, complications moving forward.
Hopefully, Utah is playing it safe with their newly acquired sharpshooter, opting to play his injury as conservatively as possible as the Jazz barrel towards yet another tanking season. But as the time elapsed since the initial injury grows, his cycle of receiving re-evaluations and delayed return dates only becomes more troubling.
Niang is in his age-32 season this year and is in the final year of his three-year, $25 million contract. If he cannot find the floor for serious minutes this season, he could have a difficult time finding a team willing to take a chance on him next season.