A litany of knee injuries have sent Harry Giles’ draft stock tumbling, but he insists that he has finally overcome them.
At a predraft workout for the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, the 19-year-old big man prospect said that his knees are 100 percent healthy, per Rod Beard of the Detroit News.
Harry Giles says his knees are 100 percent healthy but teams want to do exams at each workout just to get their own info. #Pistons
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) June 10, 2017
The 6-foot-10 Giles was once projected to be a top-five pick in the 2017 draft, but he tore his right ACL in 2015, two years after tearing the ACL, MCL, and meniscus in his left knee. Giles also had to undergo an arthroscopic knee surgery last October, marking the third such procedure of his young career. Those injuries limited him to just 26 appearances in his one season at Duke, where he averaged a mere 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 11.5 minutes a game.
Now projected to go in the second half of the first round, Giles could be a high-ceiling diamond in the rough for some frontcourt-needy team. But the risk will be just as high, as the big concern will be that, despite Giles’ claims, his knee troubles may have already robbed him of much of that upside.
Image via Harry Giles on Instagram
