Giles is one of the more interesting cases in this NBA draft class. Once the top overall prospect in his class, Giles has seen his stock drop dramatically in lieu of a knee injury that kept him out through both his final high school season and the first half of his freshman campaign with the Blue Devils. As it currently stands, Giles has already sustained both a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee, as well as a torn ACL in his right knee before getting to the professional level. That injury history alone makes his draft stock a risky bet.
With that said, though, the potential is still there. His excellent motor on the offensive glass, as well as strong instincts on the defensive glass, make him an immediate asset at the next level, while his improved comfort level on offense — especially during the ACC tournament — could signal a potential return to form in some capacity. While his lost athleticism likely prevents his ceiling from reaching the peak that it did during his pre-collegiate days, his talent level is high enough to warrant a first round gamble — and the Hawks should be a team willing to take that risk.
With neither Dwight Howard nor Paul Millsap factoring into their long term plans, the Hawks find themselves notably thin in the frontcourt moving forward. Giles has — without much debate — the highest upside of any big man left here, and Atlanta has proven themselves to be among the more skillful talent developers in the league under Mike Budenholzer’s crew. His soft touch around the basket and decent prowess in the pick-and-roll could be cultivated into a solid weapon alongside Dennis Schroder, while he has shown some flashes of a solid mid-range jumper in the past, where he’s hitting at 37.5 percent clip in a relatively small sample size this season, per Hoop-Math.com.
How Giles holds up defensively — especially if they shift him to center, which is distinctly possible — is his biggest concern at this point. It’s always tough for big men when knee concerns to carve out a consistent, sustainable career. His skill is there — it’s just a matter of whether or not his body is too.