Niang plays smart, winning basketball that his teammates appreciate.
The Pacers officially signed Georges Niang on Monday, the team announced. Niang was the team’s selection at No. 50 in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Unlike first-rounders, second-round picks are not guaranteed contracts. The Pacers, however, have signed their guys to multi-year deals from the jump in recent history.
Niang signed a three-year deal worth $2.6 million with his rookie season fully guaranteed for $650,000, a league source told VigilantSports.com. Year 2 of the deal is partially guaranteed ($100,000).
“I think that he can get in our rotation,” Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard said on draft night. “He’s been successful in college. … His games translates because he can shoot and make plays. Teams that are successful right now put [in] four guys, and sometimes five guys, that can make plays. He’s a point-forward that way. We’re excited about that, being able to pick-and-pop him.
“He’s going to compete for minutes.”
[LISTEN: Pacers Podcast with Niang’s college coach, Iowa State’s Steve Prohm]
In signing Niang, a 6-foot-9, 231-pound forward, the Pacers have 15 players under contract for the 2016-17 season. The contracts for Glenn Robinson III and Shayne Whittington for this upcoming season are not fully guaranteed until Aug. 1, so team officials have three weeks to make a decision.
Playing in all five Summer League games in Orlando, Niang averaged 10.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.