In 2010 The New Jersey Nets appeared to find a diamond in the rough when
they acquired power forward Kris Humphries from The Dallas Mavericks.
In his first two full seasons with The Nets, Humphries appeared to be
coming into his own as he was one of the top rebounders in The National
Basketball Association. In the two previous seasons Humphries averaged
10.7 rebounds per game as he was one of the top glass cleaners in the
league. Last summer The Nets moved to Brooklyn and in the process Nets
general manager Billy King rewarded Humphries by giving him a two-year,
$24 million deal. Humphries injured his ankle last month and now he is
in the midst of his worst statistical season since joining The Nets.
This season Humphries is only averaging 6.8 rebounds per game along with
6.8 points where the last two seasons saw Humphries become a
double-double man.
Humphries entered this season as a starter for The Nets, but he soon
became a bench player for former Nets head coach Avery Johnson. Johnson
was fired last month and he was replaced by Nets assistant coach P.J.
Carlisemo. Since the beginning of this month, Humphries has only logged
over 20 minutes in one game which was a 110-93 Nets victory over The
Oklahoma City Thunder. In the game Humphries chipped in with 11 points
and 7 rebounds.
forward Reggie Evans. Since Humphries has been relegated to the bench
Evans has been on fire as far as cleaning up the boards. Evans is
averaging 8.9 rebounds per game on the season which leads the team. In
the month of January alone, Evans is averaging 11.3 rebounds. Evans has
had four double-digit rebounding performances this month including a 22
rebound effort on January 8 against The Philadelphia 76ers which was a
109-89 victory and a 20 rebound effort last night in The Nets 94-89
victory over The Atlanta Hawks.
When King first flirted with the
notion of bringing Humphries back into the fray for The Nets it was
expected that he would be a part of the deal that would have seen The
Nets acquire center Dwight Howard from The Orlando Magic. Once the deal
fell through as Howard was traded to The Los Angeles Lakers, King
decided to play the hand that he already had and he re-signed Humphries.
Humphries was expected to be the man that cleaned up on the boards once
more as Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez would be the focal
points of The Nets offense. Now Humphries’ name could be mentioned in
trade rumors for the rest of this season as well as heading into the
summer. The smart move that King made was to not give Humphries many
years on his deal as The Nets long-term contractual obligations
currently involve Lopez and Williams.
I believe at some point
that Humphries will bust out of his funk. As the season continues to
progress the ankle will improve. Humphries has built a reputation as a
hard worker and you need to be aggressive to be a rebounder in The NBA.
If Humphries can step his game up it could work out like a trade for The
Nets as they are currently putting pressure on the first-place New York
Knicks in The Atlantic Division. The Nets appear to be on track for the
postseason and they will need every big body possible on the boards to
combat the likes of The Knicks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Miami
Heat in the playoffs. Net fans can only hope that Humphries is able to
contribute to the team like he has in the past.
Leave A Comment