Pacers Draft Prep: Harry Giles is a big risk

Harry Giles of Duke is without a doubt one of the most talented players in the draft. However, his injury history makes him a huge risk.

It’s been an interesting ride for Harry Giles. He’s torn his ACL twice since 2013. He was the number one recruit in the class of 2016, and chose to attend Duke University. Mainly because of his nagging knee injuries, Giles put together an underwhelming season at Duke.

Giles averaged just 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He played a minimal role, averaging 11.5 minutes per game. Despite the low numbers, Giles declared for the 2017 NBA Draft and is still expected to be picked in the first round.

Strengths

Despite the injuries, Giles is still gifted with tremendous athletic ability. He plays with a lot of energy and finishes around the rim nicely. Giles is 6-foot-10″ with a 7-foot-3 wingspan and uses that length to his advantage by catching lobs.

Giles has shown potential on the defensive end, too. The knee injuries slowed him down at times in college, but he recently said that he’s 100 percent healthy. He can play both the power forward and center positions, so that will give a team some versatility on both sides of the ball.

It was hard for him to showcase it at Duke, but what made him the number one recruit in 2016 was his explosiveness and face up game. Instead of shooting 3-pointers, which a lot of big men in today’s game are doing, Giles prefers to be in the paint doing work.

Weaknesses

Unfortunately, Giles has the major injury risk. As noted before, he’s torn his ACL twice since 2013. The knee is right up there as the number one body part you do not want to injure if you are an NBA player. He’s feeling good right now, but there will always be that injury risk with Giles.

Giles is a below average shooter for a big man. That wouldn’t matter back in the day, but it does now. He didn’t take or make a single 3-pointer at Duke. He plays near the rim, but can step out and knock down a little 15-footer. It’s also worth mentioning that Giles only made 50 percent of his free-throws this season at Duke.

There’s definitely a chance that Giles will slide on draft night due to his injury risk. There’s also a chance he gets picked higher than expected due to his upside.

Next: What should the Pacers do with their rotation players?

If he’s available at No. 18 for the Pacers, they’ll have a risky decision to make.