Only one month after being traded to his hometown workforce, Georges Niang is on the transfer once more.
The Celtics reached an agreement Tuesday to ship the Massachusetts native to Utah, in response to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Jazz additionally will obtain two future second-round draft picks from the Celtics, with undrafted rookie RJ Luis Jr. going again to Boston in return.
Minutes later, Charania reported the Celtics had agreed to a one-year, $3.3 million contract with free agent ahead Chris Boucher to fill Niang’s vacated roster spot.
Boucher, 32, spent the final seven seasons with the Raptors, showing in 403 video games with 23 begins. Final season, he averaged 17.2 minutes, 10.0 factors and 4.5 rebounds per sport off the bench for a tanking Toronto workforce, capturing 49.2% from the sphere and 36.3% from 3-point vary. His scoring and 3-point capturing marks each have been the second-best of Boucher’s NBA profession.
Listed at 6-foot-9, Boucher can play a number of positions within the frontcourt, the place he’ll compete for enjoying time with the likes of Neemias Queta, Luka Garza and Xavier Tillman. Frontcourt depth is a serious concern for the Celtics’ new-look roster following the offseason departures of Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet and the seemingly exit of Al Horford, whom the workforce doesn’t anticipate to re-sign.
Swapping out Niang for Boucher will save Boston $4.9 million in wage and lead to substantial luxurious tax financial savings. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens and his workers have made cost-cutting an offseason priority as they give the impression of being to keep away from prohibitive second-apron penalties and reset the roster within the wake of Jayson Tatum’s season-ending Achilles harm.
As soon as Tuesday’s strikes are official, the Celtics shall be roughly $8 million beneath the second apron and $4 million above the primary apron. Each aprons carry restrictions on the kinds of trades and signings groups are permitted to make, in addition to monetary sanctions.
“I’ll repeat it again and again and over: We have to regain our flexibility,” Stevens stated after the 2025 NBA Draft in late June. “We have to maximize belongings in return, and we have to regain some flexibility right here. And no matter meaning from a ultimate price standpoint is what it means.”
Although he has not began a sport because the 2021-22 season, Boucher may enter this season as a Celtics starter. With Tatum sidelined for the foreseeable future, the one locks for Boston’s beginning 5 are Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, with Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons, Sam Hauser, Boucher, Queta and Garza all amongst head coach Joe Mazzulla’s potential choices for the opposite three spots.
Rounding out the Celtics’ present roster are Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, Josh Minnott and first-round draft choose Hugo Gonzalez.
Charania reported Boucher’s veteran-minimum contract is assured, and that he “is predicted to have a big function within the frontcourt.”
Niang, who was born in Lawrence and raised in Methuen, joined the Celtics in early July as a part of the trade that sent Porzingis to Atlanta. The 32-year-old journeyman projected as a rotation participant for Boston if he caught round. As an alternative, Niang will start his second stint with Utah, for whom he performed from 2018 to 2021. He’s additionally hung out with Indiana, Philadelphia and Cleveland.
The Jazz group is affected by Celtics connections: CEO Danny Ainge, first-year basic supervisor Austin Ainge and head coach Will Hardy all beforehand labored for Boston.
Luis signed a two-way contract with Utah final month. The 22-year-old wing performed one season at UMass and two at St. John’s, averaging 18.2 factors, 7.2 rebounds and a pair of.0 assists for the Crimson Storm final season. He was not a part of the Jazz’s NBA Summer time League workforce.
It’s unclear how the Celtics plan to make the most of their three two-way slots after including Luis. They already had two gamers on two-way offers in returning wing Miles Norris and rookie level guard Max Shulga, and now haven’t any spots out there for Amari Williams, the massive man they drafted within the second spherical this 12 months.
The Celtics stated after the draft that Williams – who didn’t appear to be a right away NBA contributor throughout Summer time League – was expected to sign a two-way contract, however he had but to formally accomplish that as of Tuesday.
Boston nonetheless has one vacant 15-man roster spot after waiving 2024-25 G League MVP JD Davison final week, but it surely may select to go away it open coming into the season to save cash and keep flexibility. The Celtics entered every of the final two seasons with 14 rostered gamers.
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