Former Sixer Georges Niang not bitter after being traded from East’s top team: ‘Honestly, it’s been awesome’

ATLANTA — Georges Niang heard whispers that the Cleveland Cavaliers might try to make one more roster-solidifying move at the trade deadline. And while the former 76ers forward acknowledged, “you don’t think that it’s ever going to be you,” he always recognized the possibility that he could be traded.

So the veteran forward went ahead and scheduled an off-day massage in Washington on Feb. 6, not expecting an inherently relaxing activity to be upended by the news that he had been dealt to the Atlanta Hawks.

“You have to process this,” Niang said Monday. “And then once you get to the place, you’re like, ‘Oh, [expletive]. This is real.’ You just can’t really wrap your head around it … until you [expletive] wrap your head around it, and you’re completely moved on from the situation.”

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Niang was part of the trade package that went to Atlanta in exchange for Philly native De’Andre Hunter, in what is turning out to be one of the deadline’s more impactful deals. Niang would be justified to harbor some bitterness about being moved off the team with the Eastern Conference’s best record. Yet the 31-year-old is relishing being reunited with former coach Quin Snyder and influencing the development of a young core fighting for postseason positioning.

“Honestly, it’s been awesome,” Niang said at the Hawks’ practice facility Monday morning, before they topped the Sixers, 132-123. “We have a good, young, hungry team, which is exciting. It brings you a new energy. … When you feel like it’s all working, that’s the most gratifying thing.

“When you see it pay off, it almost makes you obsessed with the process. You’re like, ‘Oh, now let’s do more of it. Now let’s do [it] three times a day,’ because you see that the process actually works.”

During Monday’s Hawks win, Niang flashed the qualities that made him a fiery fan favorite in two seasons with the Sixers, from 2021 to 2023.

He finished with 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists in 26 minutes, 16 seconds off the bench. He drilled two corner three-pointers in the first half, then another deep shot that pushed Atlanta’s lead to 100-80 just 23 seconds into the fourth quarter. He converted a spinning finish inside and a late and-one while falling to the floor with 2:07 to go. He also tapped one ball out to rookie Zaccharie Risacher for a three-pointer and later dished a pass to Vít Krejčí for a long ball.

And Niang did all of that with a black eye stemming from when, he believes, an elbow brushed him on a bucket through contact in the Hawks’ previous game against the Indiana Pacers, quipping, “I guess I bruise easy, which is not good.”

Niang is averaging 14 points on 40.2% shooting from deep in 12 games with Atlanta, while adding 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He’s playing 6.2 more minutes per game with the Hawks (26.8) than he had with the Cavaliers (20.6).

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Still, Niang called being traded at the deadline “peculiar.” He compared it to changing schools during the semester, when “you’re trying to make friends. You’re not trying to be that new annoying kid or that kid that doesn’t talk.”

A massive benefit for Niang was his long-standing relationship with Snyder, who, while with the Utah Jazz, helped Niang morph from a player on a two-way contract to a rotation mainstay on playoff teams. Though Niang always believed he had strong relationships with his coaches, he did not realize how much he had missed the personal connection with Snyder.

“Now, I’m just hooping,” Niang said, “because I know the person who’s running the show believes in me, and these are the things that he expects of me.”

And now that Niang has three-plus more seasons of NBA experience since he and Snyder were last together in Utah, the coach trusts him with a “more significant” role. In addition to Niang’s long-range shooting, Snyder values his combination of basketball IQ and “ability and willingness to communicate” what he reads on the floor in a way that is enthusiastic yet not overbearing.

“He can impact the game in a lot of subtle ways that maybe don’t show up on the stat sheet,” Snyder said before Monday’s game.

That intangible was apparent following Monday’s Hawks shootaround. When star point guard Trae Young jokingly dove for a ball, Niang hollered and threw his arms up in delight. But he also spent time shooting on the same hoop as Risacher, and walking the 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick through sets.

“I wouldn’t know what I know if it wasn’t for the Joe Ingleses, the Mike Conleys, the Rudy Goberts, Rodney Stuckey, Tobias Harris,” said Niang, listing key veterans he has played with throughout his career. “All those guys who helped me along the way, where you’re like, ‘Oh, I’ve never looked at it that way.’ …

“I think it’s really important to drop and share that knowledge, especially with these young guys, because who doesn’t want to see this game grow?”

Niang said Monday morning he has long “gotten over” any extra feelings while facing the Sixers, and acknowledged how different the roster and staff look since he left in 2023 free agency. Still, Niang was spotted chopping it up with former teammate Tyrese Maxey during a third-quarter timeout Monday, and said his “two amazing years in Philadelphia … really helped the trajectory of my career and helped me grow.”

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Now, Niang is on his second team since he left Philly. He said he began feeling comfortable with the Hawks after halftime of his first game, recognizing familiar play calls from Snyder. Since then, he has surpassed 20 points three times — including scoring a season-high 27 in a Feb. 23 loss to the Detroit Pistons. Though the sample size is small, his rebounding average would be a career best. And last week, he finally unpacked boxes and made his new place in the Atlanta area feel like a home.

His next task is to help the Hawks continue their playoff push during the regular season’s final month. If they remain in the seventh spot, they would get two chances to advance to a first-round series — perhaps against the Cavaliers.

Whether or not that matchup materializes, there are no hard feelings from Niang about being traded away from the East’s best team. Quite the opposite.

“It’s all recently come together, and that’s been the most exciting part,” Niang said. “… You can really just relish in what happened and be like, ‘You know what? I didn’t know if I was going to get through this, but I got through this.’”