SACRAMENTO -- October 31 is the deadline for teams to make difficult decisions on team options for rookie-scale contracts. Most options are a mere formality, others require plenty of conversation.
The Sacramento Kings announced that the team has exercised fourth-year contract options on De’Aaron Fox and the third-year option on Marvin Bagley, as expected. The Kings passed on Caleb Swanigan’s fourth-year option and in a surprise move, they also declined to pick up Harry Giles’ fourth season.
According to an NBA source, the Kings love Giles and will continue to support his development. This decision also doesn’t preclude Giles from being an important part of their future.
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Giles has missed the first five games of the 2019-20 season due to a sore left knee. The 21-year-old big man has undergone three surgeries on his knees, including ACL tears in both knees as a prep athlete.
After redshirting his rookie season, Giles averaged 7.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists over 58 games last season. His year ended with a quad contusion and he missed both summer league and all of training camp due to a sore knee.
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With the Kings passing on Giles’ $4 million option, he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer and has the ability to sign with any team in the NBA. Swanigan, who has played sparingly since coming over in a deadline deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, also fall under the same set of circumstances.