SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Not long ago, Harry Giles III was considered a prized piece of a young core that was expected to lead the Kings back to prominence following an excruciating 13-year playoff drought. The organization put him on posters and billboards, promoting him as a big part of the team's future.
Now, Giles toils in obscurity at the end of the bench, frustrating fans who want to see more after getting glimpses of the upside the team touted over his first two seasons in the NBA. Giles has appeared in only seven games this season and had not played since Nov. 27 as the Kings prepared to play the Houston Rockets on Monday night at Golden 1 Center. He didn't also didn't play Monday.
"It's tough," Giles told The Sacramento Bee. "I'm a competitor, so it's hard, but it is what it is. It's not my decision. All I can do is work hard every day, control what I can control, and stay as ready as I can. What else can I do?"
Giles is stuck in a logjam at the center position in Sacramento. The Kings brought in two centers over the summer, signing free agents Dewayne Dedmon and Richaun Holmes. Dedmon was brought in to start next to Marvin Bagley III while Holmes was expected to compete with Giles, but that plan hasn't panned out.
Bagley broke his thumb in the season opener and Dedmon was benched after struggling with his 3-point shot, prompting coach Luke Walton to start Holmes and Nemanja Bjelica in the frontcourt. Now, Holmes is flourishing in a breakout season, Bjelica is providing essential spacing with his perimeter shooting and Bagley is coming off the bench at center, leaving Dedmon and Giles out of the rotation.
Walton said Giles must keep working and remain patient.
"He's going to get an opportunity and it's his job to be ready and take full advantage of that," Walton said. "Right now, we feel like our best group is tightening the rotation and keeping as much shooting and spacing out there as we can. With Marvin coming back, we wanted to get him in that rotation, but we're playing eight or nine guys right now, so it's more of a numbers thing. We want to play everyone, but we can't."
