For the Golden State Warriors, the preseason has quickly become a vehicle for sorting out the rotation—giving Steve Kerr an opportunity to explore to combinations and various looks he'll want to employ on a night-to-night basis during the regular season.
If not nominally, the competition for the 15-man roster has essentially already been concluded. Brandon Williams has been one of Golden State's biggest standout performers through four appearances, averaging 14.2 points and knocking down 61.8% of his attempts from the field during that span. He'll easily make the roster, despite the non-guaranteed nature of his contract currently, as the Warriors seek out a solution off the bench at point guard in the non-Stephen Curry minutes.
Niang, who signed a partially guaranteed deal with the Warriors this offseason, will likely take on the final roster spot. But with Dalen Terry having posted a near-triple double against the Portland Trail Blazers earlier this week, it may be reasonable to ask—why would Niang already have the final roster spot secured? Why stick with an 33-year-old, slow-moving forward when there's likely higher upside and more intense energy to be unlocked in Terry?
There are, of course, financial reasons for the Warriors' decision. But ultimately, it comes down to Niang's consistency and long-term résumé as a perimeter shooter: both of which he put on full display in his last outing against the Sacramento Kings.
Georges Niang may have limited upside at this point in his career—but the Warriors need defined quantites wherever they can get them
Naturally, there are financial factors at play in the Warriors' looming roster decisions. Niang's contract, although not fully guaranteed, is partially guaranteed at around $1.8 million for 2026-27. Moving Niang off the roster while still being forced to pay that money, especially with how close Golden State is to the second apron, isn't a move they're likely to make.
It's not as though they're without optionality here, though. There's likely a move to be made at some point in the season involving their standing contracts, and Terry will hopefully head to the G-League and be able to continue to develop his game while awaiting a development of that sort.
In the meantime, having Niang on the roster is the right move for this Warriors rotation.
Across his 11-year NBA career—of course excluding the campaign he lost last year to a foot injury—Niang has shot less than 40% from 3-point range just three times. Two of those instances came in his first two NBA seasons when he was just a marginal roster contributor for the Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz. 'The Minivan' is as consistent as they come from beyond the arc, at least in terms of players on veteran minimum deals.
Against the Kings on Saturday night, Niang looked as comfortable as ever, sinking three of his four attempts from 3-point range across 18.5 minutes on the court.
Terry, by contrast, is a career 31.4% 3-point shooter. He showed some improvement in stints last year with the Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers, but there's no guarantee that the sort of shooting metrics he put up against Portland are at all sustainable during the regular season, even with enhanced minutes.
There are roles Niang won't be able to play for this team. He's never been a particularly high-value rebounder, and his lack of agility limit his rotational viability as a defender in Golden State's system. But with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody out for at least the first half of this season, Kerr needs known quantities he can turn to to provide production on a night-to-night basis.
Terry, at this point in his career, isn't that. Niang is—in spite of his limitations. In the short term, the difference between the two players simply comes down to that.
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