It wasn’t until after the Nets had played their preseason finale that Harry Giles found out his long climb back to the NBA was done, that he’d actually made the roster.
The big man’s reaction?
Hold in the tears long enough to finish his workout.
“Oh, man, it was crazy, bro. I called my mom when I got to the room. I wanted to cry when I first found out, but I was around so many people and I was still lifting,” said Giles. “So I was trying to focus on my lift. I was sweating out hard and I was trying to get through the day. I was still kind 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 trying to make the team. That’s a good thing: keep me in that mindset. But I’m happy to be here and this is amazing.”
Giles has been through such injury hell — multiple knee surgeries, including a torn ACL that saw him cut by the Clippers last year — it’s easy to forget he’s still just 25.
Before playing for the Nets this preseason, he hadn’t seen NBA action since a two-minute cameo for Portland on May 24, 2021.
After working out for a host of teams, he inked an Exhibit 9 deal 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. A little weight off my shoulders, probably never relaxed but just starting to getting comfortable in my workplace, prepare for the year knowing I’ll be around,” said Giles. “I’m blessed. I want to give thanks to God for just getting me through what I went through.”
Giles (6-foot-10, 240 pounds) was a former top prospect at Duke and 2017 first-round pick.
“You got to change your mindset. You’re coming out fresh, young, highly touted, hate to say it’s more guaranteed, but it is a little bit,” said Giles. “You get more of an opportunity and more of a look. But you get a little older, go through stuff, go through injuries, a lot of that hype, that notoriety gets old.
“You’ve got to find a new way to get another spark. So I’m just happy that my spark never died out. … You just got to keep 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 doing some two-on-two work against players and coaches.
“It’s reads, so you’re having him react in a setting that is not controlled,” said Jacque Vaughn. “You just keep going those uncontrollable settings for him to get him back to five-on-five.”
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