The Boston Celtics are among the best put-together teams in the NBA. That's evidenced by how well they handled themselves for the majority of the season without Jayson Tatum. Even better, by getting themselves below the luxury tax, they have more options to get even better from here.
To be able to still be among the best teams in the NBA after Tatum's injury and what they lost after that is impressive enough as is, but there's one move Brad Stevens made that doesn't get enough praise for how smart it looks months after the fact: salary dumping Georges Niang.
Stevens acquired Niang when he salary-dumped Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks, which played a huge part in getting Boston under the NBA's second tax apron. That by itself was a savvy move because it's become clear the Celtics got rid of him at the perfect time (sadly).
But what was the plan with Niang? No one actually knew, as acquiring his deal got the Celtics just barely below the second apron. It wasn't the worst fate if Boston kept him, as Niang was a quality player who was aptly paid for his services.
However, the Celtics managed to find a taker for him too, as the Utah Jazz apparently wanted a reunion. For some reason.
Niang not playing this season makes the move look even better
While the headline at the time was that Stevens and co. had saved even more money, which opened the door for Boston to capitalize at the deadline, what has made the trade look even better is that Niang hasn't even played a game this season.
As harsh as it is to say, if he had stayed in Boston, Niang would have been a $8 million waste of roster space. No one exactly knows what is going on, as Niang got hurt before preseason started, then Utah included him in the blockbuster Jaren Jackson Jr. trade to Memphis, who then waived him, and he has yet to catch on with another team since.
This isn't to root against Niang, but regardless of how or why the circumstances played out the way they did only further show that Boston was smart to get rid of him when they had the chance. Niang was a bit superfluous on the roster regardless because he does what Sam Hauser does, only arguably less so.
The multiple wings who have broken out this season - Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Ron Harper Jr. - have made the move look even more necessary. Here's to hoping Niang's time in the NBA isn't up, but it fallen under the radar how brilliant the Celtics look for trading him with all that's happened since.