Why Luke Walton now might give Harry Giles a chance in Kings' rotation

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In case Kings fans are wondering, Luke Walton hears your pleas.

He sees enough of social media to know they want Harry Giles to step on the court. The in-game chants also reach all the way down to the floor, where Sacramento has lost six consecutive games.

The Kings coach revealed to NBC Sports California late Saturday night that he even might be willing to give Giles a shot Sunday in Denver on the second night of a back-to-back.

Giles hasn’t stepped foot on the floor for the Kings since their Nov. 27 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, a 15-game span. After coming into camp in less-than-stellar shape, the 21-year-old big had a flare-up in his surgically repaired left knee.

Between getting in shape and working through the knee issue, Giles missed all of camp, the Kings’ trip to India and the first eight games of the season. He also missed out on his opportunity to learn a new system, get familiar with a new coaching staff and compete for minutes on a crowded frontline.

Maybe it was miscommunication. Maybe it was a young player making a mistake. Maybe there’s enough blame to be shared by more than one or two people.

The reality is that Giles is buried deep on the Kings' bench, and injuries to Marvin Bagley and Dewayne Dedmon's struggles haven’t been enough to open a spot in the rotation.

The Nuggets have a big frontcourt, and coach Michael Malone loves to stick with size up front. With Bagley out again with a foot sprain and Dedmon playing a total of seven minutes over the last 11 games, Walton will need someone to step up.

So, why has it taken this long to get Giles on the court? It’s complicated.

According to Walton, Richaun Holmes and Nemanja Bjelica's play has a lot to do with why Giles hasn’t found a spot. With the team needing spacing, Bjelica’s ability to shoot has opened the floor. Holmes has been the most consistent player on both ends of the floor, but he doesn’t play outside of the key.

If Walton had a full training camp with all of his options, he would've had time to work through the combinations and skill sets of the Kings’ post players. But he wasn’t afforded that opportunity, and once the season starts, there is little time to work in new players.

With a bevy of injuries, Walton has turned to a tight eight- or nine-man rotation and relied heavily on veterans to support the core of De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Harrison Barnes and Holmes. Walton is doing this in an attempt to keep the Kings in the playoff chase while his core gets healthy.

This decision doesn’t always sit well with the fan base, but after the Kings won 39 games last season, the 2019-20 campaign wasn't supposed to be another development year in Sacramento. It was supposed to be the season when the team ended its 13-season playoff drought.

Nothing has gone as planned. The Kings can’t stay healthy, and when they do get a player or two back in the fold, they haven’t adjusted quickly to the additions.

Giles has been working hard behind the scenes, and he's ready for a chance to play. But as a fifth or sixth option in the post, he still doesn’t have the reps in the system with limited practice time during the season and most of the practice time going toward focusing on game planning and fixing issues that arise.

Why are players such as Justin James and Wenyen Gabriel getting minutes over Giles? According to Walton, they have been working in the system since the start of camp, and both are energy players whom he can throw on the court for short bursts.

The fans aren’t happy that Giles hasn’t got an opportunity, and the third-year pro is frustrated with his lack of a role as well. But this all was avoidable.

The Kings hyped Giles as a part of the young core. They put his face on the side of the arena before he even stepped foot on the court, but there has been a clear shift in how they view him. After being all in on Giles, the team made a statement when it decided not to pick up his fourth-year rookie-scale option.

While the Kings still like Giles and continue to work on his development, they're focused on the players they know will be here past this season.

This is a young man who missed his senior year in high school, played 300 minutes in his lone season at Duke, and redshirted his rookie season in the NBA. He has played a total of 872 minutes over 65 games in his short time in the NBA, and he’s playing in a completely new system with a totally new coaching staff.

[RELATED: Small errors add up in slumping Kings' sixth consecutive loss]

With the Kings struggling, Walton is at least contemplating giving Giles a look to mix things up. But keep in mind that unrealistic expectations are the reason why Giles and the Kings are in this position in the first place.

The Kings has lost six in a row, and they're about to face one of the best teams in the Western Conference.

Harry Giles isn’t the Kings’ savior. He’s a 21-year-old kid trying to get his career back on track.

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