Charlotte Hornets: 3 free agency targets from the Orlando bubble

Harry Giles

Harry Giles’ fantastic fit with the Hornets comes down to his parallels with a current Hornets big man, Cody Zeller.

Like the “Big Handsome” Giles is very suited to modern NBA basketball due to rare combination of ballhandling and passing ability. Giles would immediately fit in with Borrego’s playbook; he can screen for Devonte’ Graham and Malik Monk in the pick and roll, he can run handoffs with Terry Rozier, he can find cutters like Cody Martin and Jalen McDaniels out of the high post…Cody Zeller’s ability to make live dribble passes on the short roll is a fairly underappreciated skill that unlocks the Hornets offense, and Giles definitely has this skill down pat as shown in the below video.

However, Sacramento Kings coach Luke Walton didn’t take favorably to the man who grew up Winston Salem. Giles only averaged 11 MPG across 8 Orlando Bubble games as the Kings blew a prime opportunity to atone for a majorly disappointing regular season campaign.

Currently, Harry Giles isn’t a player that moves the needle a long way, a view supported by his ugly impact metrics.(-1.11 PIPM, -3.90 RPM, -5.52 RAPTOR, -1.10 BPM).  However, there is still so much untapped potential with Harry Giles. His overall activity as a rim protector is solid, and his pick and roll defense is improving.

Giles showed good nous executing the “Milwaukee drop” that Brook Lopez excelled at this past season, which involves stunting at the ballhandler before quickly backpedaling to try to contain the roll man.

The below clips of Giles’ pick and roll defense show his above-average mobility for a big man; a skill that perhaps would allow him to play more aggressive pick and roll schemes. Also, if you want a young big man to improve their technique defending the pick and roll, you can’t get too many better mentors than current Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller.

Giles has also shown promising indicators of developing a 3 point shot down the road; but regardless, Giles can currently stretch the floor with his ability to hit floaters and long 2s. Having a center who can stretch the floor would help optimize Cody Martin and Malik Monk, who like to get downhill out of pick-and-roll actions.

Any conversation about Harry must mention his knee injuries; the injuries that cut his Duke career short and took away much of the athleticism that made him the number 1 ranked high school player in 2016.

Giles also has issues rebounding and defending the post due to a lack of physical strength. However, given his fit with the rest of the roster, his untapped potential, his youth(only 22, so his age matches up with key pieces like Malik Monk PJ Washington and Jalen McDaniels) Harry Giles seems like a prime prospect for the Charlotte Hornets to sink their teeth into.

Because of the CBA regulations, the Sacramento Kings can only offer Giles 3.9M a year; what his salary would’ve been had the Kings picked up his 4th-year team option. Therefore, the Hornets could easily swoop in and snatch him from the Kings.

I think the Hornets would be shrewd to offer Giles a 2 year contract, with the 2nd year being a team option. In the case Giles sustains another knee injury or simply doesn’t improve, this gives the Charlotte Hornets a way to preserve cap space for the 2021 offseason; and the 2021 free agency class shapes up to contain some very talented big men such as Rudy Gobert, Steven Adams, and Richaun Holmes.