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Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by bobheckler Mon May 05, 2014 12:13 pm
http://www.celticsblog.com/2014/5/5/5682414/kris-humphries-earns-respect-playing-time-12-million-during-season-in
Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12 Million During Season In Boston
By evansclinchy @evansclinchy on May 5 2014, 11:00a 6
Humphries was on the ball this year. - Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Kris Humphries arrived in Boston labeled as a tabloid personality and an overpaid journeyman player. He gradually turned his reputation around with a hardworking, productive season.
We should begin by establishing this: It would have been very easy for a man in Kris Humphries' position not to care.
Let's quickly recap Humphries' lifetime achievements leading up to his arrival in Boston via trade last summer. By age 28, he had to his name:
1. Nationwide celebrity, 900,000 Twitter followers and 72 days of marriage to a Kardashian
2. Nine productive seasons in the NBA, with respectable career totals hovering around 4,000 points and 2,000 rebounds
3. $36.9 million in career earnings - and that's just from the basketball, not including the reality show earnings resulting from the aforementioned marriage to a Kardashian
That's a pretty nice lifetime for most people, and Hump had it all sewn up at 28. So it would have been quite simple indeed for him, upon being traded from a guaranteed East playoff team in Brooklyn to an organization in Boston that very clearly wanted to rebuild without him, to say "eff it." He's got his money and his fame, and whatever happens from here is gravy. So why invest anything in playing out the string through the Celtics' bridge year?
That was the sentiment of most fans when Humphries showed up in Boston - they expected very little from him, for the most part. And Hump only reinforced that expectation on July 15, when he showed up for an introductory news conference alongside fellow trade pieces Keith Bogans and Marshon Brooks and looked like a dental patient waiting for a root canal. One of his first few quotes to the Boston media was - verbatim, I embellish not, I swear - "Yeah, basically, all those cliched comments." After a first day like that, nobody wanted to imagine a Day 250.
Gradually, though, Humphries surprised us.
It was hard to see it at first. He was playing very little at the start of the season, and talking to us media types even less. But he was in the background, working, pushing himself really hard to become a relevant basketball player again. By season's end, he'd done a lot more than that.
Humphries became a very productive player for the Celtics this season, especially in the second half. No one knew what to expect from the guy after last year, when he could hardly stay in the rotation for P.J. Carlesimo in Brooklyn, but Humphries put in the work to earn Brad Stevens' respect in Boston, and Stevens repaid him with playing time. He finished the year averaging 19.9 minutes per game, far more than anyone would have guessed in November, and he was second on the team with 5.9 rebounds.
On a team full of "role player" types, Humphries was an admirable one. The Celtics had a lot of needs this season, and Hump worked to fill every void that he could. When Vitor Faverani became injured this winter, the Celtics basically had zero useable centers, so the natural power forward Humphries pushed himself to embrace the five-spot. He was decent in the role, holding his own against guys who dwarfed him in size. Humphries could also step outside a little bit, giving the team a mid-range shooting element that, at times, it desperately needed.
He was a great locker room guy, too. It helps that Humphries has been through a miserable losing year before - he was a key member of that 2009-10 Nets team that went 12-70, one of the worst seasons in league history. He's worked through the on-court issues, endured the emotional trauma and even put up with the condescending media questions. His veteran leadership helped the Celtics deal with all three of those issues this season, which wasn't always easy. This season was a pain for the C's, but it might have been a lot worse without Humphries around.
No one knew what to expect from the guy who warmed the Nets' bench a year ago and fought with Rajon Rondo at the Garden. He was a potential bust in Boston - everyone sensed it. But Humphries worked hard to shed that label, and he became a very good player in Stevens' rotation.
Will that continue? It's hard to say. Humphries' contract - a two-year, $24 million deal that he originally signed with the Nets in the summer of 2012 - is coming to a close. He's a free agent again, he's still only 29, and he's earned the right to get himself paid. Not $12 million a year paid like last time, but paid nonetheless.
I'm not sure if Humphries fits in Boston. The team is in for a long-term rebuild, and it's well-positioned to go full speed ahead with Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk as the primary two power forwards. That might leave Humphries as the odd man out - it wouldn't shock me if Danny Ainge made him a lowball offer that at least gave him the chance to stay, but Humphries will likely have better suitors elsewhere.
Should we expect to see Kris Humphries in green for years to come? Probably not, but if this year has proven anything, it's that the veteran big man still has plenty of NBA career left in him. Wherever that career continues, I wish him well.
bob
Here's where I take a little victory lap. I'm re-posting some thoughts I had from threads I started back last summer about Hump.
Is Kris Humhries Really a Bad Fit for the Boston Celtics?
Post by bobheckler on Wed Sep 04, 2013 8:28 am
MY NOTE: Hump could be one of those players, like Zaza and KG, that you hate playing against but love them when they're on your team. They're irritants. They're instigators. They're disruptors. Now, he's our disruptor and that might be good. If he goes back to being a double-double machine, that could be very good. Lord knows he's not afraid to stick his nose in the middle. Other than having questionable taste in women (or, at least, focusing on the wrong things to like about them) I am not aware of any incidences that would suggest he's not a model citizen (which is more than can be said about another potential double-double machine at PF on the Celtics, unfortunately).
Thanks Hump. Your professionalism took a lot of the sting out of losing Pierce and KG and this tough season. If you're still here next year, I'll be happy. If you're not, I wish you well.
.
Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12 Million During Season In Boston
By evansclinchy @evansclinchy on May 5 2014, 11:00a 6
Humphries was on the ball this year. - Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Kris Humphries arrived in Boston labeled as a tabloid personality and an overpaid journeyman player. He gradually turned his reputation around with a hardworking, productive season.
We should begin by establishing this: It would have been very easy for a man in Kris Humphries' position not to care.
Let's quickly recap Humphries' lifetime achievements leading up to his arrival in Boston via trade last summer. By age 28, he had to his name:
1. Nationwide celebrity, 900,000 Twitter followers and 72 days of marriage to a Kardashian
2. Nine productive seasons in the NBA, with respectable career totals hovering around 4,000 points and 2,000 rebounds
3. $36.9 million in career earnings - and that's just from the basketball, not including the reality show earnings resulting from the aforementioned marriage to a Kardashian
That's a pretty nice lifetime for most people, and Hump had it all sewn up at 28. So it would have been quite simple indeed for him, upon being traded from a guaranteed East playoff team in Brooklyn to an organization in Boston that very clearly wanted to rebuild without him, to say "eff it." He's got his money and his fame, and whatever happens from here is gravy. So why invest anything in playing out the string through the Celtics' bridge year?
That was the sentiment of most fans when Humphries showed up in Boston - they expected very little from him, for the most part. And Hump only reinforced that expectation on July 15, when he showed up for an introductory news conference alongside fellow trade pieces Keith Bogans and Marshon Brooks and looked like a dental patient waiting for a root canal. One of his first few quotes to the Boston media was - verbatim, I embellish not, I swear - "Yeah, basically, all those cliched comments." After a first day like that, nobody wanted to imagine a Day 250.
Gradually, though, Humphries surprised us.
It was hard to see it at first. He was playing very little at the start of the season, and talking to us media types even less. But he was in the background, working, pushing himself really hard to become a relevant basketball player again. By season's end, he'd done a lot more than that.
Humphries became a very productive player for the Celtics this season, especially in the second half. No one knew what to expect from the guy after last year, when he could hardly stay in the rotation for P.J. Carlesimo in Brooklyn, but Humphries put in the work to earn Brad Stevens' respect in Boston, and Stevens repaid him with playing time. He finished the year averaging 19.9 minutes per game, far more than anyone would have guessed in November, and he was second on the team with 5.9 rebounds.
On a team full of "role player" types, Humphries was an admirable one. The Celtics had a lot of needs this season, and Hump worked to fill every void that he could. When Vitor Faverani became injured this winter, the Celtics basically had zero useable centers, so the natural power forward Humphries pushed himself to embrace the five-spot. He was decent in the role, holding his own against guys who dwarfed him in size. Humphries could also step outside a little bit, giving the team a mid-range shooting element that, at times, it desperately needed.
He was a great locker room guy, too. It helps that Humphries has been through a miserable losing year before - he was a key member of that 2009-10 Nets team that went 12-70, one of the worst seasons in league history. He's worked through the on-court issues, endured the emotional trauma and even put up with the condescending media questions. His veteran leadership helped the Celtics deal with all three of those issues this season, which wasn't always easy. This season was a pain for the C's, but it might have been a lot worse without Humphries around.
No one knew what to expect from the guy who warmed the Nets' bench a year ago and fought with Rajon Rondo at the Garden. He was a potential bust in Boston - everyone sensed it. But Humphries worked hard to shed that label, and he became a very good player in Stevens' rotation.
Will that continue? It's hard to say. Humphries' contract - a two-year, $24 million deal that he originally signed with the Nets in the summer of 2012 - is coming to a close. He's a free agent again, he's still only 29, and he's earned the right to get himself paid. Not $12 million a year paid like last time, but paid nonetheless.
I'm not sure if Humphries fits in Boston. The team is in for a long-term rebuild, and it's well-positioned to go full speed ahead with Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk as the primary two power forwards. That might leave Humphries as the odd man out - it wouldn't shock me if Danny Ainge made him a lowball offer that at least gave him the chance to stay, but Humphries will likely have better suitors elsewhere.
Should we expect to see Kris Humphries in green for years to come? Probably not, but if this year has proven anything, it's that the veteran big man still has plenty of NBA career left in him. Wherever that career continues, I wish him well.
bob
Here's where I take a little victory lap. I'm re-posting some thoughts I had from threads I started back last summer about Hump.
Is Kris Humhries Really a Bad Fit for the Boston Celtics?
Post by bobheckler on Wed Sep 04, 2013 8:28 am
MY NOTE: Hump could be one of those players, like Zaza and KG, that you hate playing against but love them when they're on your team. They're irritants. They're instigators. They're disruptors. Now, he's our disruptor and that might be good. If he goes back to being a double-double machine, that could be very good. Lord knows he's not afraid to stick his nose in the middle. Other than having questionable taste in women (or, at least, focusing on the wrong things to like about them) I am not aware of any incidences that would suggest he's not a model citizen (which is more than can be said about another potential double-double machine at PF on the Celtics, unfortunately).
Thanks Hump. Your professionalism took a lot of the sting out of losing Pierce and KG and this tough season. If you're still here next year, I'll be happy. If you're not, I wish you well.
.
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Re: Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by dboss Mon May 05, 2014 12:59 pm
Kris played well. Not sure if he will be back.
Dboss
Dboss
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Re: Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by Sam Mon May 05, 2014 1:36 pm
If it comes to Humphries or Bass sharing the PF job with Sully after Danny scores an intimidator at center (Nah, nah! I am not overly optimistic!) I'd have to say Humph probably has the edge. Good insurance at two positions. More toughness and better "big" defense for a team that could use a lot more "big" toughness. Good size for the PF position.
I love Bass, but I can't see him, Sully and Humph all staying with the Celts.
Sam
I love Bass, but I can't see him, Sully and Humph all staying with the Celts.
Sam
Last edited by sam on Mon May 05, 2014 4:41 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by bobheckler Mon May 05, 2014 2:04 pm
sam wrote:If it comes to Humphries or Bass sharing the PG job with Sully after Danny scores an intimidator at center (Nah, nah! I am not overly optimistic!) I'd have to say Humph probably has the edge. Good insurance at two positions. More toughness and better "big" defense for a team that could use a lot more "big" toughness. Good size for the PF position.
I love Bass, but I can't see him, Sully and Humph all staying with the Celts.
Sam
sam,
I think the smart money is giving Rondo and Pressey have the inside track on the PG job.
bob
.
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Re: Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by Sam Mon May 05, 2014 4:43 pm
Bob,
Sorry about the typo. At least that's what I think you're referring to, because I don't understand the double verb in your sentence.
Sam
Sorry about the typo. At least that's what I think you're referring to, because I don't understand the double verb in your sentence.
Sam
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Re: Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by bobheckler Mon May 05, 2014 4:47 pm
sam wrote:Bob,
Sorry about the typo. At least that's what I think you're referring to, because I don't understand the double verb in your sentence.
Sam
sam,
I have to proof-read my posts before I have to post them.
bob
.
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Re: Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by k_j_88 Mon May 05, 2014 6:18 pm
I thought that both Humphries and Wallace displayed a great deal of professionalism despite being injected into a completely different situation than that which they came from.
KJ
KJ
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Re: Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by kdp59 Mon May 05, 2014 6:41 pm
k_j_88 wrote:I thought that both Humphries and Wallace displayed a great deal of professionalism despite being injected into a completely different situation than that which they came from.
KJ
how hard is it to be professional while making $10M and $12M respectively?
I mean come on.......I hope they are both long gone from Boston ASAP. Neither one does anything but take up salary and cap space we need for younger/better players.
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Re: Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by k_j_88 Mon May 05, 2014 7:30 pm
kdp59 wrote:k_j_88 wrote:I thought that both Humphries and Wallace displayed a great deal of professionalism despite being injected into a completely different situation than that which they came from.
KJ
how hard is it to be professional while making $10M and $12M respectively?
I mean come on.......I hope they are both long gone from Boston ASAP. Neither one does anything but take up salary and cap space we need for younger/better players.
Humphries and Wallace both played hard every single night, knowing they are on a rebuilding team. Their contributions this were were great, be it from providing defensive intensity to being veteran voices on a ball club that was lacking its team captain. Make no mistake about it, they deserve a great deal of respect.
Coming in, no one knew what to expect of Humphries. I think many of us were pleasantly surprised that he kept a positive attitude despite the mounting losses, always was ready to come in and produce when he was needed, and he never took plays off.
I think you should examine things within the proper context. To you they may be guys that just take up salary, but to me, they are tireless fighters that fought hard on a team they knew would lose games.
KJ
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Re: Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by gyso Mon May 05, 2014 7:41 pm
Between Wallace and Humphries, I'll take Humphries. I didn't like the fact that Wallace used the media to show his frustration with the team. He started doing this in the preseason, for crying out loud!
They both played their hearts out on the floor game in and game out, but (IMO) only Humphries consistently acted like a professional off the court.
gyso
They both played their hearts out on the floor game in and game out, but (IMO) only Humphries consistently acted like a professional off the court.
gyso
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Re: Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by k_j_88 Mon May 05, 2014 8:01 pm
gyso,
I agree with your points on Wallace.
KJ
I agree with your points on Wallace.
KJ
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Re: Kris Humphries Earns Respect, Playing Time, $12M During Season In Boston
by kdp59 Tue May 06, 2014 1:16 pm
look I know what you are saying about them "being professional".....but I guess I ama dinosaur, who EXPECTS players that are getting not only good salarys, but GREAT salaerys to play hard and be priofessional at ALL times.
I don't accept that as being somehow special or to be awarded even.
$10M and $12M in todays NBA is WELL ABOVE what either is worth.
I want both gone because even with their supposed "professionalism and hard work" we were a 25 win team.
I'd rather spend that $22M elsewhere thank you.
let them be "professionals" on some other team.
thank them for their play, fine.
praise them for not sulking with their shoes off...I think not.
I don't accept that as being somehow special or to be awarded even.
$10M and $12M in todays NBA is WELL ABOVE what either is worth.
I want both gone because even with their supposed "professionalism and hard work" we were a 25 win team.
I'd rather spend that $22M elsewhere thank you.
let them be "professionals" on some other team.
thank them for their play, fine.
praise them for not sulking with their shoes off...I think not.
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