Late coming, but Giles gets chance
Kings’ promising inside force sat out 2017-18 with bad knees
Forced to watch from the Sacramento Kings’ bench all last season,
Harry Giles had to remember he eventually would get his chance.
Now that he finally has this opportunity, Giles looks determined to make the most of it.
Giles has used the NBA Summer League to show he could be the next Ben Simmons, a player who sat out an entire season and was named the league’s top rookie earlier this year. Giles will have a crowded field of contenders for that title, but the 6-foot 10-inch inside force is showing he is at least a player to watch when the 2018-19 season gets underway.
“I’m getting my groove,” Giles said. “I’m just being patient. It’s a great time. It’s hard not to be excited.”
The Kings have upgraded considerably in the front court with Giles and 6-11 Marvin Bagley III, who was the second pick of this year’s draft. Both were first-round draft choices out of Duke, with Giles going 20th in 2017.
Sacramento could use the help. The Kings have missed the playoffs 12 years in a row, the longest active drought.
Bagley had a short stay in the Summer League, bruising his pelvic bone on Saturday and then getting shut down. He played through the pain in that game against the Phoenix Suns and Deandre Ayton, the top pick from this year’s draft. Bagley totaled 15 points and seven rebounds over 32 minutes.
GILES
said Thursday the company respects the privacy and anonymity of its guests.“intheeventthatthisis compromised, we take the appropriate action. Given the news reports of Charles Oakley, we have no details with regards to any alleged activity and will not comment on our guests’ experience.”
Oakley is coach of the Killer 3s of the Big3 professional basketball league, co-founded by rap star Ice Cube. His visit to Las Vegas coincides with the NBA Summer League at Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion, but Oakley has no formal NBA affiliation.
He played 19 NBA seasons, averaging 9.7 points and 9.5 rebounds.
Oakley’s arrest comes five months after a Manhattan judge dismissed five misdemeanor charges that the former player faced in relation to his scuffle with Madison Square Garden security guards during a Knicks game in February 2017. In a court agreement reached in August 2017, Oakley agreed to a one-year ban from the Knicks’ arena.
Oakley has since filed a federal defamation lawsuit against Madison Square Garden and MSG executive chairman and chief executive officer James Dolan in response to the incident. Attorneys for the Garden and Dolan recently asked the judge to throw out the case; the judge has yet to rule.
A spokesperson for the Knicks said the organization had no comment. Knicks coach David Fizdale said he did not know of the matter while Mark Jackson, Oakley’s former teammate with the Knicks, had no comment.
Staff reporter Mark Anderson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact John Katsilometes at jkatsilometes@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @ johnnykats on Twitter, @ Johnnykats1 on Instagram.