The Boston Celtics may trade Sam Hauser this offseason. Not because there is anything wrong with him, but because their cap flexibility allows them to trade him for reinforcements, which could make him a casualty simply due to circumstances. No one's rooting for him to be traded, but everyone is rooting for Boston to improve; there's a difference.
If it comes to that, Boston would miss his sharpshooting along the wing and could look to replace it. If there's one player who could do that while also costing not nearly as much as Hauser does, it would be Georges Niang.
Boston brought in Niang last summer to help them get under the first tax apron, and he did. Twice, in fact, by both trading for him and trading him away. Trading him to Utah turned out to be an even smarter move in hindsight, as Niang didn't even play this season due to injury.
But with enough time that has passed, Niang has hopefully recovered from the injury and can get back to the player he was before. Because he missed the entire season, he can also be had for pennies.
Niang isn't as good Hauser, but that wouldn't matter
Full stop: Hauser is a better player than Niang. The latter is more one-dimensional as a sharpshooter, but everywhere else, the former is a better overall player. Hauser is a better defender, has better footwork, and better at creating for himself, though he's not the best at that.
Niang would replace Hauser's best attribute: his floor-spacing. As for what else Hauser brings to the table, another reason why Boston may not take much issue with trading him is their arsenal of young wings that may have a higher ceiling than he does long-term, like Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, and Hugo Gonzalez.
Regardless, the Celtics would bring him back solely for when they need better spacing, and getting him with a chip on his shoulder could pay massive dividends in the end. Not to mention, of course, his ties to Massachusetts.
Sure, Celtics fans weren't exactly keen on Niang when they first acquired him because of some of his decisions when he was a Celtics opponent a few years back.
However, a Hauser trade would make three-point shooting along the wing a more pressing need, so in that context, why not? Last year, Niang was expendable because Hauser is basically the better version of him.
For that reason, he's the perfect replacement. Note that Boston should only do this *if* they trade Hauser, which isn't a sure thing until it is. But if it happens, there are worse buy-low candidates out there.
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