Sacramento Kings: 2017 NBA Draft grades for De'Aaron Fox

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Mar 9, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Harry Giles (1) reacts after a dunk against the Louisville Cardinals during the first half of an ACC Conference Tournament game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sportsat Barclays Center. /

No. 20 — Harry Giles, PF/C, Duke

In the second pick they acquired from the Blazers, the Kings took arguably the biggest gamble of the draft.

There are plenty of questions that come when you select a player with as many red flags as Harry Giles has. In his lone season at Duke, Giles played very much like a player returning to action after suffering a torn ACL, the second time the 19-year-old has done so.

But before the injuries Giles has accrued over the years, he was as highly regarded as any prospect in his class — so much so that he was projected as a possible No. 1 overall pick at one point in time.

With Giles starting to return to full health, the Kings are betting on that he can return to the type of player he was capable of becoming before he suffered his many injuries. Having shown this in just a year’s time, the Kings have a track record of methodically developing big men that carried concerns in the lead up to last year’s draft between Skal Labissiere and Georgios Papagiannis.

With that in mind, taking Giles is a gamble the Kings can afford to take with where they are in their rebuild, especially at 20. The question of whether he can remotely return to the player he once projected to be will only be answered in the years to come.

Grade: B

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