It wasn’t until after the Nets had played their preseason finale that Harry Giles discovered his long climb back to the NBA was done, that he’d actually made the roster.
The large man’s response?
Hold within the tears long enough to complete his workout.
“Oh, man, it was crazy, bro. I called my mom after I got to the room. I desired to cry after I first discovered, but I used to be around so many individuals and I used to be still lifting,” said Giles. “So I used to be attempting to concentrate on my lift. I used to be sweating out hard and I used to be attempting to get through the day. I used to be still type of hyped about myself. So once I got to the room, I just laid on the bed and I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’
“My mom was like ‘Has it hit you yet?’ I’m like, ‘Nah, it still ain’t hit me. It still hasn’t hit me. I still feel like I’m in camp attempting to make the team. That’s an excellent thing: keep me in that mindset. But I’m comfortable to be here and that is amazing.”
Giles has been through such injury hell — multiple knee surgeries, including a torn ACL that saw him cut by the Clippers last yr — it’s easy to forget he’s still just 25.
Before playing for the Nets this preseason, he hadn’t seen NBA motion since a two-minute cameo for Portland on May 24, 2021.
After understanding for a number of teams, he inked an Exhibit 9 cope with Brooklyn, essentially a training camp invite. But he’s made good on the tryout, getting the news from GM Sean Marks.
“It feels amazing, man. Just a little weight off my shoulders, probably never relaxed but just beginning to getting comfortable in my workplace, prepare for the yr knowing I’ll be around,” said Giles. “I’m blessed. I need to present because of God for just getting me through what I went through.”
Giles (6-foot-10, 240 kilos) was a former top prospect at Duke and 2017 first-round pick.
“You bought to vary your mindset. You’re coming out fresh, young, highly touted, hate to say it’s more guaranteed, however it is just a little bit,” said Giles. “You get more of a possibility and more of a glance. But you get just a little older, undergo stuff, undergo injuries, a variety of that hype, that notoriety gets old.
“You’ve got to seek out a recent strategy to get one other spark. So I’m just comfortable that my spark never died out. … You only got to maintain working hard and keep pushing.”
Dennis Smith Jr. (ankle) was a partial participant in practice Sunday.
Rookie Dariq Whitehead, recovering from foot surgery, has progressed to performing some two-on-two work against players and coaches.
“It’s reads, so that you’re having him react in a setting that shouldn’t be controlled,” said Jacque Vaughn. “You only keep going those uncontrollable settings for him to get him back to five-on-five.”
