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Just ask Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge if he anticipates any moves coming before opening night and he'll tell you that there could be. Ainge said, "We have some work to do. We have a few too many guaranteed contracts . . . We have to make some adjustments, and we're very busy trying to put the best team on the court. But there could be some changes this summer, yes."
For the next couple of weeks I am going to ask one simple question about each player that could be on the block: Should the Boston Celtics keep or trade him before the start of the regular season?
In the fifth part of the "Keep Him or Trade Him" series, we are going to take a look at Kris Humphries. He's a 28-year-old power forward that was recently acquired in the massive blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets. Last season Humphries averaged 5.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in only 18.3 minutes per game. Humphries is entering the last year of his contract, which is valued at $12,000,000.
Why Keep Humphries?
Why Trade Humphries?
Have you seen that salary of his? Kris Humphries has an extremely attractive yet hideous $12 million dollar contract this year. Attractive? Yeah, it's very sexy for teams looking to make a play in the potentially stacked 2014 free agent class because it expires after this season. On the other hand, it's pretty hideous to look at for the C's since they need to get under the luxury tax and Humphries would accomplish that in one swoop.
I also think Kris is a relatively easy player to trade. He's a good role player, has an expiring contract, and there isn't much risk involved with acquiring him. Sure, he married a Kardashian, so what? I know he had his fracas with Rondo but those things happen in the heat of the moment. I'm sure when Rondo is asked about that once camp starts, he'll tell you the same thing. Not to mention, from all the accounts I've read about him, he's no more or less pompous than any other NBA player. And for the record, I'd like to get a chance at Kim Kardashian... damn you Kanye West.
Compared to some of the other players Boston acquired in their blockbuster deal with Brooklyn, I believe Kris is a player that could easily be traded alone. There is no reason to package him with other assets, which would mean they'd have to wait until after his 60-day no-trade rule passes. To put it simply, Kris is just a quality role player that the C's could get rid of with ease.
What Would I Do?
I'd keep him. Ever since he got a chance to play with the New Jersey Nets in 2010, I have felt he'd be a quality NBA player for a long time. At only 28 years old he's still young and doesn't have much wear and tear on his body. Seriously, he was drafted in 2004 and didn't eclipse 20 minutes per game until 2009. When he started and averaged 34.9 minutes per game in 2011-2012, he played extremely well and I'd like to see him on this team going forward. Humphries, when paired with Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, and other athletic players, should make for successful transition offense. The Celtics have a lot of young bigs on the roster like Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, Colton Iverson, and Fab Melo, but as the saying goes "you can never have enough bigs." I think Humphries deserves to average between 25-to-35 minutes per game as either a starter or a sixth man, and I'd like that to be with the Boston Celtics this season and potentially going forward.
What would you do? Vote on the poll, comment below, and tweet me @Kevin__OConnor with your thoughts.