2017 NBA Draft: 3 options for Los Angeles Lakers at No. 28 overall

Harry Giles, C, Duke

I must warn you that this would be a high-risk, high-reward pick for the Lakers. Harry Giles was once considered one of the top up-and-coming names in the sport of basketball. Three knee surgeries and the accompanying mental issues later, and Giles is no first-round lock.

Before destroying and rebuilding his knee, Giles was seen as a near-generational talent. A dominant paint presence with the scoring, rebounding and defensive tenacity to strike fear in opposing teams, Giles had all of the pieces you wanted in a young, uber-athletic big man. The injuries, however, were apparent in his only season at Duke, when he struggled to make a significant impact.

There are some holes to his game, though. Giles is a bit limited offensively, lacking a reliable jumper and a refined arsenal of post moves. His passing and ballhandling aren’t great either, and he still needs to fill out that 6’10” frame. And yet, the amount of time he’s spent away from the game has played a big part in his slow development in these areas.

All of the athleticism and physical tools are there for Giles to be a star someday. Unfortunately, the injury-prone knees will scare teams away from the former Blue Devil. However, if a team is willing to be patient, he has the potential to pay serious dividends somewhere down the road.

The Lakers could use a star in the making down low. Timofey Mozgov is a limited, overpaid piece of this roster, and Ivica Zubac is still a raw prospect. If Giles gets healthy and lives up to his immense potential, he could easily make one or both of them irrelevant.