Brooklyn Nets should explore a reunion with Kris Humphries
While the Brooklyn Nets may look to balance their roster with a slew of high-upside youngsters and veteran players, one option in free agency may be former Nets power forward Kris Humphries.
Let me start out by saying no, this isn’t the old Kris Humphries that was once married to Kim Kardashian, traveled with the family on exotic vacations, and made his appearances on E! Television Network once in a while. This is an older, more mature and basketball-focused Kris Humphries.
Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks made a series of moves last summer to solidify the roster, signing veteran players like Luis Scola, Greivis Vasquez and Randy Foye to create a balance between youth and veteran leadership.
Marks knew that despite not being able to rely on big-time minutes from some of his veterans (which changed due to injury circumstances, of course), their leadership would do wonders for the development of their core – mainly rookies Caris LeVert and Isaiah Whitehead.
Now, with Scola waived, and Vasquez’s uncertainty about returning to the Nets after having season-ending ankle surgery, Brooklyn may look toward some veterans to round out the roster.
One option? Yes, Kris Humphries.
The Nets have been pretty terrible creating second chance opportunities, ranking 26th in the league this season is offensive rebounds per game (8.8). Sure, the backslap, volleyball style of Tyson Chandler is still being used by some bigs with incredible wingspans, but the value for a true bruiser on the boards is still needed in the game.
Hey, LeBron James made Tristan Thompson one wealthy man for fighting on the boards and creating second chances for the Cleveland Cavaliers, dishing it back out to Kyrie Irving and LeBron to work their magic in isolation.
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So, it may be time for the Nets to take a chance on Kris Humphries. The 32 year-old big man from Minneapolis didn’t have a stellar season by any means, only averaging 4.6 points, 3.7 rebounds in just over 12 minutes per game, but he’s still known to be a big-body down low that can pull up from 15 feet, and provide hard screens on the perimeter.
Remember too, that Humphries had a career high in points and rebounds (13.8 points and 11 rebounds) per game back with the Nets in 2011-12.
Humphries will be relatively cheap, as he signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks just last offseason, staying with the team after the 2015-16 campaign.
While it may not be a free agency signing at 12:01 a.m. ET on July 1, an addition of Humphries could be something Marks sees as another veteran in the mix that can step up when called upon, provide depth in the frontcourt and give the Nets a forceful player on the boards. It’s a nice piece to round out a hopefully improved Brooklyn Nets roster.
Sure, it’s a 10th, 11th or 12th man move, but Humphries can still stroke it, plays tough on the interior and can even hit the occasional corner three.
Even playing with Kenny Atkinson as a head assistant head coach in Atlanta is helpful, as the pace and space style of offense has been something Humphries loved about Mike Budenholzer’s offense.
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While the name may not be circulating come the end of June, Kris Humphries is another one of those veterans to look to after the big dominoes fall in free agency. He may just end up putting on a Nets uniform once again — this time, with “Brooklyn” stitched in black and white.