Harry Giles III, Portland Trail Blazers
Harry Giles III is one guy who has all the talent in the world and all the potential to be a very special power-forward in the NBA, but his knees are ticking time bombs. In high school, he tore his ACL in both knees on two separate occasions and had a total of three knee surgeries. As a result of his injured past, Giles did not play much at Duke and fell all the way to the 20th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Much has been the same with Giles over the years with the Sacramento Kings as he has played in just 104 games over the course of the last two seasons. With the Kings moving on from the 22-year old forward, the Portland Trail Blazers decided to take a chance on him at a very low price.
This offseason, the Trail Blazers agreed to a one-year, $1.7M deal with Harry Giles III, a deal in which Portland has nothing to lose. The worst thing that happens for Portland is that Giles does not produce, but the Trail Blazers have depth in their frontcourt and are willing to see if they can tap into any of Harry Giles’ potential.
At 6’11” with the versatility he has shown flashes of, Harry Giles could be a very solid player in the Trail Blazers’ system and could revitalize his career. Being able to play alongside dynamic talents like Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum should only help.
The biggest thing is making sure that Giles is comfortable out on the court and he is entirely healthy. He has played through injuries over the years and with his knee history, it is expected that he cannot go through an entire season and will need some time off here and there. If the Trail Blazers can handle this situation correctly and be patient with Giles then they could find a new contributor for themselves in the frontcourt.
If he can stay healthy and the Trail Blazers puts him in situations to succeed with his skillset, then Harry Giles III could very much turn into a solid player with the Trail Blazers. It was worth signing him to a minimum-level deal to see if he can contribute to a playoff roster in any way.
