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Summary

I was surprised when the Kings declined the fourth year option on Giles's rookie contract, especially considering it was only $4 million. After missing his entire rookie season due to injury, Giles has only played 93 games over the past two seasons, so his injury history will certainly be an area of concern for teams interested in signing Giles this summer.

 

When he has played, Giles has not been all that productive. Although showing flashes of passing ability from the high post and touch from the midrange, he's not someone defenses fear with the ball in his hands. He's not a strong presence inside on either end of the floor, making it hard to make an impact as a big.

 

There's plenty of room in today's NBA for finesse, skilled bigs, but Giles would likely need to improve his range on offense or his rim protection on defense to really make an impact. Giles is still only 22 years old, so there's certainly room for optimism.

Cap Considerations

Giles had the fourth year of his rookie option declined, so he will be a unrestricted free agent with a $4.0 million cap hold and limited Bird Rights. The highest starting salary the Kings can offer is the $4.0 million amount of the option year that was declined.

 

If another team has interest in signing Giles, they could pry him away from Sacramento by offering him more than the $4.0 million that the Kings can offer, by either using cap space or any of the Non-Taxpayer, Taxpayer, or Room Mid-Level Exceptions to sign him.

Potential Teams: Wizards, Thunder, Kings, Thunder, Pistons

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $4.5 million with the Wizards

Actual Contract: 1-year, $1.7 million ($1.6 million cap hit) with the Trailblazers

I don't quite understand why a rebuilding team like the Pistons or Hornets didn't offer Giles a bit over the minimum, but I guess his unproven record and health issues scared teams away.

Last updated: 12/31/2020

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