#3. Added Depth
The Kings have certainly struggled with injuries this season, especially to its big men. Marvin Bagley has missed a vast majority of the season, and there was of course the Holmes injury. There was also the mid season trade of Dewayne Dedmon, which thinned out Sacramento’s front line for a few games as the trade was process and Len nursed an injury.
The lack of bodies allowed Giles, who had been relegated to the end of the bench, to secure a regular starting role for the first time in his career. Still, Kings struggled at times with their depth and able bodies to bang with the centers of the NBA. While we love Nemanja Bjelica, he is certainly not a dependable low-post defender.
The return of Holmes changes everything for Luke Walton and his potential rotations. He now has flexibility to move Giles to power forward if need be, and has another big body in Len to back up Holmes in certain situations.
The allocation of minutes will obviously change. Holmes will likely return to the starting lineup as he moves off of his minutes restriction, meaning that Giles’ playing time will likely be up in the air given Len’s solid contributions.
But how will the Kings be able to justify removing Giles from the regular rotation after he has played so well and further won over the hearts of fans over the last two months? Because they would love to keep his value low during this summer’s free agency period, that’s why.
The Sacramento Kings will take on the Toronto Raptors on Sunday evening, take two much-needed days of rest, and then play their only nationally televised game of the season on Wednesday against the Pelicans.