Boston Celtics Should Consider Kris Humphries If Brandon Bass Opts out

The Boston Celtics made a very worth while sign-and-trade last year that brought Brandon Bass to the C's in exchange for Glen Davis and Von Wafer. The trade actually worked so well for the Celtics that Brandon Bass greatly outplayed his contract and they have found themselves in a situation where Bass will likely opt-out of his contract and try to get more money in free agency. Although Bass and the C's are both interested in keeping the power forward in green, Danny Ainge should at least look into what it would cost to bring Kris Humphries to Boston. 

Humphries is a very controversial player as he seems to be hated by most fans and some players, but somehow all of these people overlook the fact that he simply can play basketball. If Bass starts to become too expensive and Humphries can be picked up at a discounted rate due to his reputation around the league, the Celtics may find themselves an opportunity to get a very strong PF for cheaper money. 

Most people are not big fans of Kris Humphries, but last year he did average 13.8 points per game on 48.1 percent shooting, 11.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and started every game of the season. His performance actually outweighs Brandon's in almost every category as Bass only averaged 12.5 points per game on 47.9 percent shooting, 6.2 rebounds, and .9 blocks. The only real area that Humphries under performs in comparison to Bass is at the free throw line as he shot 75.2 percent in comparison to the 81 percent rate that Bass put up. 

The argument can be made that Bass was more or less the fifth option on the Celtics, while Humphries only had Deron Williams above him for most of the year. This may account for the points per game difference between the two players, but the one area that Humphries clearly has the advantage in over Bass is the one where the Celtics need the most help. 

Humphries posts a better rebound rate per game than Bass and having him on the court alongside the likes of Kevin Garnett or any other strong center would greatly improve the Celtics' standing in the league in terms of rebounding. The fact that Humphries can rebound much better than Bass and puts up similar stats across the board makes him a viable option for the Celtics to bring in next year if they can't make things work out with Bass. 

Further, Humphries is a very hard-working player on defense and he could help to further build on our suffocating D by combining with KG in the front court (if he returns next season). He works extremely hard off the ball and this could lead to larger turn over rates by opposing teams as the help wouldn't be readily available when the back court is being jammed down by Bradley and Rondo. 

Brandon Bass could be a better choice over Humphries this season due mostly to his strong play later in the playoffs and the way his personality fits in well in the locker room. However the Celtics may find themselves in a harder decision if Bass is able to obtain a contract offer for more money than he is worth to the team. In that scenario it would make sense for Danny Ainge to take a long hard look at Kris Humphries and possibly bring in the 27-year-old power forward from Brooklyn to help maintain and even strengthen the front court for the upcoming season.