A day after waiving point guard Yogi Ferrell to clear up a roster spot, Shams Charania of the Athletic has reported that the Clippers will sign former Kings and Blazers center Harry Giles to a non-guaranteed deal.
Giles was taken with the 20th pick in the 2017 draft by the Kings, but has only played in three NBA seasons, as he sat out his entire rookie year with a knee injury. Over those three seasons, Giles has averages of 5.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 12.9 minutes per game across 142 games played.
Giles was an extremely highly-regarded prospect coming out of high school, #2 in the country behind only Josh Jackson, and arrived at Duke to much fanfare. Due to knee surgery, his minutes were limited, and between that and other injury concerns, he slipped in the draft.
Still just 23 years old, Giles’ first two seasons with the Kings were promising enough, and it considered somewhat of a shock when they let him go after the 2020 season. However, he didn’t play much in Portland, failing to remain within Terry Stotts’ rotation, and when he did play, he was much worse than in his first two seasons.
As he’s on a non-guaranteed deal, it’s possible Giles doesn’t make the team, but considering he’s only the third true big man with a training camp invite so far (the Clippers have 18 total out of 20 maximum), it would seem he has an inside lead for cracking the roster as the Clippers’ third center.
Giles hasn’t been very good so far in his NBA career, but he’s still young, and has shown enough flashes (especially as a passer) that he’s certainly a worthwhile gamble on a non-guaranteed minimum deal. He was loved by Kings fans, who mostly wanted him to be brought back, and is supposed to be an easy guy to root for.
The Clippers still need to officially sign Harry Giles, but with him being brought to camp and Ferrell waived, the Clippers’ last real news of the offseason should be over. Welcome to LA, Harry.
