NBA Rumors: Why New Jersey Nets Will Get Stuck With Kris Humphries

The New Jersey Nets tried extremely hard to find an upgrade in the paint over Kris Humphries.

They were rumored to be in the mix for Nene, Tyson Chandler, DeAndre Jordan and of course Dwight Howard. They struck out on all of them and now are in discussions with Humphries for the unrestricted free agent to come back for his third year in New Jersey, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News:

Humphries had the most public summer of any player in the NBA, but he is coming off a career year. He put up career highs in points (10), rebounds (10.4), blocks (1.1), assists (1.1) and field-goal percentage (52 percent).

He was the leading rebounder for the Nets and had meshed well with Brook Lopez in the paint. With Deron Williams back in the saddle for the entire season, you would expect his offensive numbers to get even better.

Clearly the Nets wanted to exhaust all of their options before committing to Humphries, but the clock is ticking with the season now less than a week away.

Ironically enough, if there were one player who needed a full training camp, it’s Humphries. He just had the summer from hell that included endless E! cameras, nail polish and annoying women. Who knows how great of shape he’s in or how much time has been committed to working on his game.  There is no question Humphries is going to have a down year.

He won’t be ready for all of the heckling he’ll receive on a nightly basis on the road. Mentally, the guy is exhausted, and now he has to play 60 games in just over 120 days. He is going to be out of shape and rusty.

Humphries' agent told The New York Daily News that the two parties were in discussions for a new deal as far back as the beginning of December, but the talks hadn’t gained steam until this weekend.

The Nets are desperate just to get a competent big man at this point, and Humphries is the best fit for New Jersey. They tried their hardest to move on…but it looks like Humphries will be back with the Nets in the next day or two.