Kings Rookie Harry Giles Will Be Out Until January With Knee Concerns

The Sacramento Kings emerged from the 2017 NBA Draft with an impressive haul of young, talented players led by former Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox. Because the Kings are firmly in a rebuilding mode, Sacramento took the opportunity to swing for the fences when selecting former Duke big man Harry Giles with the No. 20 pick, knowing that the one-time elite prospect was a big-time risk.

Now, it appears as if that experiment is not off to the best start, as the Kings announced on Friday that Giles will be sidelined until at least January with knee concerns.

It comes as no surprise that Sacramento would take a cautious approach with Giles’ knees but the wording of the release including a focus on the “measured and sustained progression plan designed to improve physical strength in his surgically repaired knees” could be seen as troubling. Beyond that, Chris Mannix of Yahoo indicates that Giles is a candidate for a de facto redshirt this season.

Because Giles’ was selected with pure upside in mind, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad idea for the Kings to take their time with his development. Still, this will do (very) little to assuage doubts from the basketball community concerning whether Giles will ever be able to recreate the strength and burst that helped to make him the best prospect in his high school class.

On the bright side, it appears nothing has necessarily regressed with regard to Giles’ rehab.

It isn’t often that a former top-tier prospect has concerns in both reconstructed knees but the situation with Harry Giles is unique in that regard. Only time will tell as to whether he can overcome physical limitations and pay off Sacramento’s draft-day gamble.