The Warriors brought in Georges Niang this summer because they believed the veteran forward still had useful basketball left in him after sitting out all of last season with an injury. But heading into Wednesday night’s opener against the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State is still waiting to find out exactly what kind of player it has.
Preseason didn’t give the Warriors much clarity. Niang played in five games, sitting out the trip to Portland on the second night of a back-to-back along with most of the roster. In those appearances, the 33-year-old averaged 7.6 points and 1.8 rebounds, but his shooting numbers were rough: 33.3% from the field and 28.6% from deep.
The full picture was uneven from night to night. At times, Niang looked slow and vulnerable defensively, and he didn’t always have his 3-point shot working to cover for it. Across three preseason games against the Clippers and Lakers, he managed just 12 points on at least 19 shot attempts, including a 1-of-11 mark from 3-point range.
Then came the other end of the spectrum.
Against Sacramento, Niang posted 13 points in 19 minutes, knocking down 4 of 6 shots and 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. In the final preseason game against Portland, he added another 13 points and three rebounds in 16 minutes, and he went a perfect 5-of-5 at the free-throw line. That kind of line showed he can still create offense in more ways than just spotting up for threes.
That’s the tension for Golden State right now. Niang gave them two encouraging games and three shaky ones in preseason, which leaves the same basic question unanswered: is he simply a depth option after missing a full season, or is there still a version of the forward who once averaged a career-high 9.9 points while shooting 40.6% from 3-point range?
The Warriors don’t need perfection from him. They need steadiness. He’s supposed to be one of those dependable veterans who can give Steve Kerr something solid night after night, and the preseason swings only made the rotation picture murkier.
There’s also real pressure on Niang’s role. Once Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are back from injury, he could be pushed out of the mix if his play doesn’t improve.
That makes his early-season stretch important, especially with Golden State leaning on him to provide reliable minutes. Based on preseason, that reliance comes with plenty of uncertainty.
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