Harry Giles should not be on the Miami Heat’s 2017 NBA Draft board

Prior to his knee injuries, Duke’s Harry Giles was one of the top prospects of the 2017 NBA Draft. Now, the Miami Heat would be smart to avoid him.

With the college basketball season wrapped up, we are quickly approaching the next important chapter for basketball fans. Of course, I’m referring to NBA Mock Draft season! What else could I have possibly been talking about? As such, and it being a rare year in which the Miami Heat own a first-round pick, it’s a time full of intrigue, excitement and speculation. Who could Pat Riley be eyeing to add to his roster heading into 2018?

Surely, his selection would have been made all the easier if, back when the team was 11-30, he decided to tank the rest of the season. But, for better or worse, that’s not the Heat way. So now, instead of going into the draft with a top-six pick, Miami will likely be selecting between 14 and 18.

Recently, SBNation’s Ricky O’Donnell released his first round mock draft. In his piece, he pairs the Heat with an interesting prospect out of Duke. He’s a power forward by the name of Harry Giles. Here’s s the skinny, in O’Donnell’s own words:

"Giles tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus going into his sophomore year of high school. He tore the ACL in the other knee during the first minute of the first game in his senior year of high school. The young man has had some bad luck. Still, there was a time when Giles was considered the No. 1 recruit in the country as a long and athletic big man with limitless upside. He didn’t show it this year at Duke, but the chance that he discovers his old form is worth a first round pick."

Before getting into why I think this would be a bad idea for Miami, let’s first talk about Giles’ backstory.

Who is Harry Giles?

Dating back to April 16, 2016, Giles was projected to go second overall by Draft Express. He spent the next six months slotted in that spot, until eventually falling to fifth in October, 12th in January, to 24th overall presently.

Although he had already suffered a horrific knee injury as a sophomore in high school, Giles was trending upwards as a prospect after a year of rehab. The reason? His play with the USA U19 basketball team, who won Gold at the 2015 FIBA World Championship.

Giles showed signs of having maintained his pre-injury form by averaging 14.0 points and 10.5 rebounds and being named to the All-Tournament team. The power forward proved he was still the explosive monster every major college basketball coach was recruiting.

Unfortunately for Giles, he would go on to tear the ACL in his other knee during the first game of his senior of high school. He had already committed to Duke at the time, and considering his upside, head coach Mike Kryzewski honored his scholarship anyways.

Fast forward a year, and we find ourselves in a similar situation. Duke announced that Giles would be out indefinitely following a minor knee procedure on Oct. 3. He missed the first 11 games of the season before finally making his debut against Tennessee State.

Giles wound up playing 26 games for Duke before declaring for the NBA Draft. During his one year of college, he averaged 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game.

Why Giles makes absolutely no sense for Miami

If the Heat were a team in a slightly different situation, I would be all for taking a flyer on Giles in the middle of the first round. Prior to his latest injuries, he was the most freakish talent in the country.

A 6-foot-11 power forward with a 7-foot-3 wingspan. Agile, explosive, with the ability to dunk on just about anybody. Had he not missed so much time rehabbing his knee, it’s very likely he would have improved his feel for the game and ability to score from outside of the paint by now.

Giles’ best stretch of the season was a five-game span that saw him average 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds on 57.1 percent shooting. Sadly, he’s really not even close to fulfilling his potential.

Miami needs to draft someone who can help them right away. Guys with higher floors, but lower ceilings. Great examples would be Tyler Lydon (Syracuse), T.J. Leaf (UCLA), John Collins (Wake Forest) or Ivan Rabb (Cal).

All four guys are power forwards with different strengths and weaknesses, but they all possess one quality that Giles doesn’t: the ability to contribute year one. Goran Dragic will be 31 by next season, Hassan Whiteside 28. This team is built to win now. And to do so, aside from having a successful free agency, the Heat need to nail their first-round pick.

Next: Can the Miami Heat salvage their playoff odds?

Not to mention, after what Riley went through with Chris Bosh’s blood clots, I find it extremely unlikely he would get himself into the same predicament by drafting a player who has suffered multiple devastating knee injuries before even reaching college.

Giles would have been the perfect draft pick during the Big Three era. A guy with as much talent as anybody, who fell out of the top 20 due to unfortunate circumstances. But the current Heat don’t have the luxury of swinging for the fences. They would be better served trying to hit a double by taking a safer option.