Charlotte Hornets: Talking to Kris Humphries?
The Charlotte Hornets may be trying to bring in Kris Humphries, but to what purpose?
So the Charlotte Hornets have gotten the big fish in free agency. Now that have to build a team around him. While we assume that the Hornets will be pursuing Marvin Williams next, they still have a need for a rim protecting big man to fill out the defense. That big man is not Kris Humphries.
The Hornets are one of several teams talking to Humphries according to reports from Shams Charania of the Vertical. What does the interest of the Hornets in a 6’9” 235 lbs forward tell us about the team?
One thing is that it might suggest that the team has more faith in in the current trio of seven footers than we thought. Frank Kaminsky and Cody Zeller have not yet proved to be shot blockers, but neither could really be called lethargic on the defensive end. Since Humphries is unlikely to provide the additional upper level defense help then perhaps the Hornets are looking for something else.
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Humphries has been a pretty good player in the post in his career. The Hornets now have two seven footers who might be most dangerous from beyond the arc. Humphries could offer some balance in the post as Al Jefferson did. Humphries played on a minimum deal last season and so should be reasonably cost effective.
He also is not a starter. That would mean that the Hornets would have to feel that one of the current big men will be the starting center next year. My money would be on Kaminsky. The Hornets would the potential to put four shooters on the court along with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist if they can bring back Williams. There would be so much space to cover and so much room to create down low.
A Humphries acquisition merely changes what comes off the bench. It can’t be for too many minutes either. The Hornets’ interest in Humphries will not have a huge impact on the roster. However, if Humphries is the only free agent big to join the team then that will be a signal that something else is going on.