Ranking every Sixers bench player — 5. Georges Niang
Perhaps Milton should get this spot. The Sixers do, again, need guards. That said, the Sixers also need shooters, and Georges Niang is a genuinely elite shooter. He’s at 40.4 percent from 3 for his career, and hit 42.5 percent of his 4.1 attempts per game last season. He adds much more dynamism to the “Mike Scott role.”
In Niang, the Sixers have another bigger body in the second unit (6-foot-7, 230 pounds) who can hit a bunch of spot-up jumpers and play unselfishly. Joel Embiid tends to bring out the most in shooters, not to mention Ben Simmons (if he’s still around). Niang will feast on open looks, and force defenses to consider his presence behind the 3-point line.
Defense is not a strong suit for Niang, and it would have benefited the Sixers to grab a stretch four who can also defend a couple different spots (Niang is almost exclusively a four, with limited stretch five utility in the right matchup). Even so, buckets are buckets, and Niang will give the Sixers buckets.
Rivers is a fan of veterans, and he rode Mike Scott for longer than he had any right to last season. He very clearly wants a good stretch four. Niang has five NBA seasons under his belt, and is such a clear fit with Philadelphia’s core that it would shock me not to see him on the floor regularly next season. If Simmons gets swapped for a smaller guard, then Niang’s size becomes even more noteworthy.