Name: Kris Humphries
Position: PF/C
Height: 6’9”
Weight: 235 lbs
Birth Date: February 6, 1985 (age 25)
Birth Place: Chaska, MN
Number: 43
Drafted: 14th pick of the First Round in 2004 by the Utah Jazz
Experience: 6 years
Contract: $3.2 million
On Offense:
Prior to his arrival in New Jersey, Kris Humphries had developed a following among the stat-centric community for putting up fairly solid points per 40 minute offensive numbers. However, playing for teams like Dallas and Toronto, with stud PFs like Dirk and Bosh in front of him, Hump never got a real chance to show what he could do with consistent playing time.
The end result of the Hump experiment is a mixed bag. There were plenty of games where Hump demonstrated he could be a great “energy guy” off the bench, and he even torched the Clippers twice to the tune of 21 and 25 points – season highs. However, he also had a propensity to put up a couple of 1-7-type clunkers (he shot 37 percent for the entire month of February).
The problem with Hump is despite his strength and ability to get dirty under the rim, he shot from the outside way too much. About 58 percent of his total field goal attempts where jumpers, according to 82games.com. Meanwhile, he averaged nearly as many shots from beyond 15-feet (2.1) per game as he did at the rim (2.6), according to HoopData. For a stretch four, that’s acceptable. But Humphries is not a stretch four.
Hump is also a bit of a black hole on offense. The ball goes in, but rarely goes back out to other teammates unless they’re rebounding his miss. His assist ratio of 5.4 was Yi-like. In fact, Yi actually assisted the ball more than Humphries did last year. Meanwhile, his turnover ratio of 11.2 percent put him in the bottom half of PFs in the league.
On Defense:
One thing Hump excels at is rebounding. Despite his penchant for taking shots away from the basket, he’s a strong guy who can crash the glass. His rebound ratio of 17.8 was good for 7th for all PFs last year – better than more noteworthy fours like Chris Bosh and Pau Gasol, and even better than noted glass-crasher Anderson Vaerjao.
As for the rest of his defensive game, again, it’s a mixed bag. The team’s defensive efficiency when Humphries was on the court was 114.3 points per 100 possessions and 110.9 points off the court. Considering he was often subbing in for Yi Jianlian, another defensive liability, it doesn’t speak to well as Humphries abilities as a stopper off the bench. Meanwhile, opposing PFs put up a 19.8 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) when Hump was on the floor – well above average. This includes averaging 23.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per 48 minutes.
Miscellaneous:
Back when he was with the Toronto Raptors, Humphries did a regular mailbag at The Globe and Mail called “Ask Hump.”
Comment:
While there are certainly a lot worse players out there getting minutes off the bench in the NBA, I’m hard pressed to figure where Kris Humphries fits into this Nets rotation. Troy Murphy and Derrick Favors appear to be the de facto one and two on the depth chart, while Johan Petro figures to get the bulk of minutes backing up Brook Lopez. When you consider that Humphries is only on this roster because of a player option clause in his contract, I can’t imagine him fitting into the Nets long-term plans, and his expiring contract will certainly be trade bait.
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