The Cleveland Cavaliers made a selection in the second round of the recent NBA draft, but they won’t get to see him develop on the team for at least a year.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Saliou Niang has joined the Italian EuroLeague team Virtus Bologna.
This wasn’t a huge surprise and had been a rumored move for weeks, but it officially takes Niang out of the 2025-26 NBA season.
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Saliou Niang Γ¨ un nuovo giocatore dei Campioni dβItalia π― pic.twitter.com/cK8lYx5wkn— Virtus Bologna (@VirtusBo) July 16, 2025
Niang is a 6-foot-5 player who has performed in Italy since 2021-22.
Now 21 years old, he could provide the Cavaliers with even more depth, but he would have had a tough time getting minutes in the upcoming NBA season.
That’s because the Cavaliers already have a stacked roster, meaning they wouldn’t have a lot of time to offer Niang.
Instead of battling for minutes on the court, Niang chose to sign with an Italian team.
He might still play for the Cavaliers, but it won’t be for at least a year.
The good news for Cleveland is that he is still young and can enhance his skills even more over the next season.
So if and when he does come to the Cavaliers, he will arrive with a lot of talent and more experience, ready to contribute a lot.
During his last run with the Italian league, Niang averaged 8.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.6 steals per game.
He has become a rather big name in the Italian circuit, and American fans were excited to see what he could do in the NBA, but now they will have to wait a lot longer.
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