Sixers’ Georges Niang is Blocking Noise Ahead of Trade Deadline

Sixers forward Georges Niang is doing his best to avoid trade rumors with the deadline approaching.

The 2023 NBA trade deadline is set to take place on Thursday afternoon. With just a couple of days left before it’s capped off, Philadelphia 76ers players are waiting patiently to find out what their front office might do.

Unlike last season, the Sixers aren’t linked to any blockbuster deals, but there have been some discussions surrounding a couple of their players. At first, the second-year guard Jaden Springer and the veteran wing Danuel House were rumored to be on the block. Since those rumors surfaced, they have faded.

Lately, the two former Sixers draft picks, Furkan Korkmaz and Matisse Thybulle, are the most popular names in the rumor mill coming out of Philadelphia. As several teams are rumored to be interested in Thybulle’s services, and Korkmaz reportedly requested a trade, there is smoke surrounding the Sixers.

Even with the rumors going around, the 76ers still have to continue playing. As they approach their Wednesday night matchup against the Boston Celtics, Sixers veteran forward Georges Niang mentioned he’s doing all he can to block out the noise.

“I try not to think about that because I try not to get too worried about it or arrogant because I feel like if you get arrogant, that’s when something surprisingly happens, and you’re just shipped off, and if you worry about it, it’s just consuming your energy for no reason,” said Niang. “Obviously, I said it before last year, we had to do something, but this year I don’t know what we’re going to do. I don’t get paid enough to make those decisions. I think I’ve honestly haven’t even really thought about it if I’m being completely honest.”

When asked whether or not Niang’s ever been worried about what might happen to his team ahead of the trade deadline, he recalled a time when his contract option consumed his thoughts while he was a member of the Utah Jazz

“When my deadline was on, like, the trade deadline of like getting my option picked up, yeah, I was definitely thinking about that,” he explained. “I was doing like extra sprints at the Utah Jazz practice facility. Just letting them know, if they needed me, I was ready.” 

Outside of that, Niang has had success blocking everything out.

“I really try not to think about that stuff,” he finished. “You know, as messed up as it is, I try to take the emotion out of it can because it is a business and you kind of think of it as such, and if you let your emotions get the best of you, it kind of takes away from what you bring to the table. So I tried to stay away from it, you know?”

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.