The Portland Trail Blazers take a chance on Harry Giles

The Portland Trail Blazers have taken a gamble by signing the often injured Harry Giles in free agency.

When the Sacramento Kings did not exercise the fourth-year team option of Harry Giles, they basically made sure he was not going to re-sign with them. Sure enough, as soon as he could, Giles signed on with another franchise, the Portland Trail Blazers per Woj of ESPN.

While Giles is an immensely talented player, he has struggled to make it on to the court as often as he or his team wanted. He did not play in his rookie season and then only played 104 games in the next two seasons.

Giles has had knee issues since college and this is the main reason the Kings declined his option. The Blazers this season have depth at every position and obviously thought that it was worth a shot, signing Giles to a one year deal.

How Harry Giles will help the Portland Trail Blazers

Giles was once touted as one of the most talented players to enter the league in a long time. He is a 6’10” forward whose athleticism will be extremely valuable to the Blazers in the upcoming season.

He only has career averages of 7.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.4 blocks in just 14.3 minutes per game. He does not have a perimeter offensive game, having only taken eight attempts from deep in his career.

What he does do is he provides the Blazers with a viable option at the four until Zach Collins returns from injury. Until that happens they have Robert Covington, Carmelo Anthony and Giles who can play this position, giving coach Terry Stotts multiple options.

While Giles did not have great support during his time in Sacramento, that is not going to be the case in Portland. As shown by last season, coach Stotts is willing to give playing time if you earn it. Gary Trent Jr. is a prime example of this.

Giles will also play with one of the best point guards in the game. Damian Lillard is at the top of his game and tends to bring all of his teammates into the game. Once he makes the rotation, Giles is going to benefit from the supremely talented point guard.

Where the Blazers can utilize Giles’ talents best is in small ball situations. At 6’10 he is the right size to play center with Covington or Anthony at the four. As Giles knows his game well, he will take the majority of his shots from within ten feet of the basket.

For his career, Giles has made 52.4 percent of his 5.8 field goal attempts per game. Stotts will probably give Giles a role near the basket with offensive rebounding and putbacks being the center of his contributions on offense.

This move, along with all the others made by the Blazers, signifies that they are all in on the season. The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten better since winning the title so the Blazers have shown that they are willing to push the envelope and get better. Let’s hope they can stay injury-free.