Kris Humphries Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Free Agent Notes: Rondo, Wolves, Gasol

July 2nd, 2016 at 11:50am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pelicans could still make a push for signing Rajon Rondo even after securing an agreement with E’Twaun Moore, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. Reid acknowledges that there are other teams in the mix for Rondo and New Orleans appears to be a long-shot. There were conflicting reports on Friday as to whether the team was interested in Rondo.

Reid confirms an earlier report that the Pelicans were interested in Jeremy Lin, but the point guard’s price was too steep for the team. Lin signed a three-year, $36MM deal with Brooklyn on Friday.

Here’s more from around the league during this crazy start to free agency:

The Wolves had interest in Luol Deng before he signed with the Lakers and they made calls to both Pau Gasol and Kent Bazemore before the latter signed with Atlanta, Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune writes. The team would also like to add depth and has interest in Randy Foye, Willie Reed, Courtney Lee, Kris Humphries, Jamal Crawford, Brandon Bass, and Ian Mahinmi.
The Thunder have also expressed interest in Reed, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.
Amar’e Stoudemire would be interested in returning to the Knicks, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. “If they want to bring me back, that would be a nice opportunity,” Stoudemire said.
The Lakers bumped up Deng’s offer to $18MM per season after Bazemore turned down the same offer, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link).
Ish Smith‘s new deal with the Pistons will pay him $5.7MM in year one, $6MM in year two and $6.3MM in the final season, per Rod Beard of the Detroit News (Twitter link).
Former first-round pick Jan Vesely has interest from NBA teams, but it will take a starting salary of $11-12MM to bring him stateside, Net Income of SB Nation tweets.
Rade Zagorac is negotiating a deal to play overseas with Red Star Belgrade, international journalist David Pick tweets. The Grizzlies acquired the No.35 overall pick in a deal with the Celtics on draft night.
Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News takes a look at who the Mavericks can still get in free agency.

Free Agent Rumors: Durant, Anderson, Mahinmi

July 1st, 2016 at 8:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Durant‘s meeting with the Clippers has concluded, and Durant was “blown away” by the team’s presentation, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter). It’s hard to know yet exactly what that means, since Durant was also reportedly impressed with the Warriors‘ pitch earlier in the day — it would probably be more newsworthy if Durant had been unimpressed by one of the teams’ presentations. In any case, the former MVP has sit-downs with the Spurs and Celtics on tap for tomorrow, then is expected to meet with the Heat on Sunday – and possibly the Thunder again after that – before making his decision.

Let’s check in on a few more free agent updates from across the NBA…

The Raptors had a meeting today in Los Angeles with free agent forward Ryan Anderson, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Times. Toronto inquired on Anderson at the trade deadline as well, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca tweets, but the team would have to clear salary from its cap – and possible let Bismack Biyombo go – in order to have any shot at signing him.
Ian Mahinmi won’t return to Indiana, with the Pacers set to add Al Jefferson, but Mahinmi has no shortage of suitors, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter links). Aldridge identifies the Spurs, Wizards, Timberwolves, Hornets, Mavericks, Trail Blazers, and Magic as clubs in the mix for the free agent center.
The Nets have put a two-year, $18MM offer on the table for Jared Dudley, who is still receiving interest from the Jazz and Suns, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link).
The Spurs, Nets, and Bulls have expressed interest in free agent big man Jordan Hill, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link).
The Timberwolves have been very active, reaching out to many free agents during the first day of July. Jamal Crawford and Randy Foye were among the players to receive a call from the Wolves today, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune, respectively (Twitter links).
Veteran big man Kris Humphries is a strong candidate to return to the Nets, a source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link). Brooklyn was one of six teams mentioned as a potential Humphries suitor earlier today.

And-Ones: Parsons, Humphries, Bass, Howard

July 1st, 2016 at 2:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Unrestricted free agent Kris Humphries, who split time last season between the Wizards, Suns and Hawks, is one of the players the Celtics are considering making a run at this offseason, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com relays (on Twitter). The Hawks, Nets, Wolves, Spurs and Hornets are also interested in the big man, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets.

With free agency now underway, here’s the latest happening from around the league:

The Trail Blazers intend to make a strong push to ink both Chandler Parsons and Dwight Howard this offseason, Jason Quick of CSNNW.com tweets. Parsons and Howard were former teammates with the Rockets and have remained friends, the scribe notes.
The Hawks made a strong impression on Howard during their meeting with him today, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. The scribe adds that the possibility of D12 joining Atlanta is gaining traction.
The Warriors are looking to bolster their bench and have expressed interest in unrestricted free agent Andrew Nicholson, who spent the past four seasons with the Magic, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
Former Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt is joining Rick Carlisle‘s staff with the Mavericks, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com tweets.
Former Nets forward Sergey Karasev signed a three-year deal with the Russian club BC Zenit Saint Petersburg, the team announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 22-year-old made 40 appearances for Brooklyn this season and averaged 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.0 per contest while shooting .405/.297/.929 from the field.
Former Wizards forward Chris Singleton has signed with the Greek club Panathinaikos, international journalist David Pick relays (via Twitter). Singleton last appeared in the NBA during the 2013/14 season.
The Wolves have reached out to free agent power forward Brandon Bass to gauge interest, Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN tweets.
With the Pacers reportedly reaching an agreement with Al Jefferson, unrestricted free agent big man Ian Mahinmi won’t be returning to the team next season, Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star relays (via Twitter).
The Mavericks have no immediate plans to target Bismack Biyombo or Howard after missing out on Hassan Whiteside, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link).

Southeast Notes: Harris, Bosh, Humphries, Morris

March 24th, 2016 at 12:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Tobias Harris just signed a four-year, $64MM deal with the Magic in July, but he took it in stride when the team traded him to the Pistons at last month’s deadline, observes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. “I’m not mad at Orlando for the trade,” Harris said Tuesday. “Actually, if I was to sit here and be upset, that would be selfish, wouldn’t it? All they did was put me in an amazing situation. Truthfully, I thank them for that. I mean, I loved my time there, but business is business, and I think being here has been great for me.”

Harris’ new team got the better of his old one Wednesday as Detroit beat Orlando, 118-102. See more from the Southeast Division:

Chris Bosh and the Heat have received conflicting information about how soon he can stop taking blood thinners and return to the court, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Bosh can’t play until he’s off blood thinners, and while some doctors recommend that patients stay on blood thinners for three to six months after a clot develops, others disagree, Jackson notes. Bosh reportedly developed the clots in mid-February.
The buyout market signing of Kris Humphries has returned the big man to a traditional inside role after the Wizards tried to make him into a stretch four earlier this season, and the arrangement has been beneficial for the Hawks, coach/executive Mike Budenholzer said, notes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Humphries goes back on the free agent market July 1st. “He’s fit in really well,” Budenholzer said. “I’d just say rebounding is an area where we need to be better and he’s kind of come in and given a little life. He tracks offensive boards, goes to the offensive boards. And I’m hoping he’ll be more of an influence on our other guys even though it’s not something we prioritize. He brings a little bit of a physicality, a little bit of a toughness. And then he can make shots, he can spread the court. Shoot threes, make threes. And his personality, he’s added a little personality to our locker room, too, so it’s just been a really good fit.”
Markieff Morris makes Washington’s defense better, his contract isn’t a killer, and the top-nine protected pick the Wizards gave up in the trade to acquire him is unlikely to cost the team a landmark player, contends J. Michael of CSN Mid Atlantic, who sees the deal as a victory for Washington. “It’s the versatility of him being able to guard postup guys as well as out on the perimeter, whether it’s a three, four or five guy,” coach Randy Wittman said. “His knowledge of the game, his willingness to pass. He’s a willing passer and makes great decisions at the other end.”

Eastern Notes: Turner, Humphries, Knicks

March 6th, 2016 at 3:52pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Evan Turner will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but he would like to return to the Celtics, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes. “I like Boston,” Turner said. “It’s my favorite place to ever play. My career has been on the up and up since I’ve been here.”

The 27-year-old added that president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is a major reason for his admiration of the team. “What I respect about Danny is he’s all about winning championships,” Turner said.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Kris Humphries, who signed with the Hawks last week, is excited about playing for a team that could do some damage come playoff time, as he tells Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This is a really good team,” Humphries said. He added that he feels comfortable with the system that coach Mike Budenholzer has in place. “You look at most of their principles,” the big man said. “It’s something I’ve been involved in so it should work out. I’ve played in this kind of system before.”
It may be time for Knicks owner James Dolan to decide if team president Phil Jackson has a future with the organization, Mike Lupica of the Daily News writes. Lupica is critical of Jackson’s choices since coming to New York, including his hiring of Derek Fisher.

Southeast Notes: Morris, Humphries, Fournier

March 3rd, 2016 at 9:31am CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards are giving Marcin Gortat more minutes down the stretch of late, and he prefers playing with Jared Dudley and Wizards trade acquisition Markieff Morris at power forward instead of Kris Humphries, who went out in the trade for Morris, notes J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic.

“It’s opportunities, being the guy who’s pretty much played the whole fourth quarter. I didn’t have that opportunity in the first 50 games,” Gortat said. “I’m definitely excited about playing more minutes. I think just having Markieff or Jared next to me in the starting lineup it’s a much better fit for me than Kris Humphries. Not picking on him but he just didn’t fit with me well. He’s a totally different player than Keef or Jared. I feel more comfortable playing with them.”

Gortat called Morris “a great teammate” and said the controversy surrounding him in Phoenix was overhyped, quipping that “we’re not giving him towels to throw at people,” a reference to the towel Morris tossed in former Suns coach Jeff Hornacek‘s direction in the midst of a December game, as Michael also relays. See more on the Wizards, and on Humphries, amid news from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards are likely to allow their $2,806,750 disabled player exception expire, Michael hears, writing in a separate story. Washington couldn’t use the majority of it anyway without going over the tax line. The deadline to use it is a week from today.
Soon-to-be restricted free agent Evan Fournier would like to re-sign with the Magic, observes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. GM Rob Hennigan has refuted the idea that the team isn’t entirely sold on the swingman, and reports indicated the Magic were hesitant to trade him at the deadline. “I really like to play for this team. I’m having my best year so far. There’s no reason for me to leave,” Fournier said.
The Hawks dipped into their room exception to sign Humphries to his deal for the rest of the season, giving him an even $1MM and not the prorated minimum salary as previously reported, reveals Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That gave Humphries an even exchange on the buyout market, since he gave up $1MM to secure his release from the Suns, Pincus notes (on Twitter). Atlanta has about $900K left on its room exception in the wake of the Humphries signing.

And-Ones: Oden, Sampson, Lee

March 1st, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs power forward David Lee struggled to get into shape this season following the Warriors‘ NBA title run of last season and turned some heads when he said that he finally committed himself to getting fit when he fell out of the Celtics‘ rotation in preparation for joining another team, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes. Despite the negative implications of Lee’s remarks, Boston coach Brad Stevens isn’t upset with his former player, Forsberg notes. “I don’t know if that is semantics or how he meant to say it,” Stevens said. “I think the biggest thing that he was probably saying there was that, when you’re not playing, you have to find other ways to stay ready. And maybe I’m wrong. But I think that he certainly took [to his] diet, he worked out hard — he worked out hard enough that if he would have played, he would have been gassed in the games. Sometimes you can’t do that if you’re going to be playing 15 minutes per night. He was going two or three times hard per day during that stretch. So, no, I wasn’t frustrated by it. In fact it set a pretty good example for the other guys that weren’t playing.”

Stevens also acknowledged the difficult spot Lee was placed in with him not being in the team’s regular rotation, Forberg writes. “That was hard. That was really hard. And it was harder on [Lee] than anybody else, but we talked about it a lot,” Stevens said. “We didn’t have hardly any injuries with our bigs and we had a lot of bigs that, especially at the end of games, were going to be relatively the same position. And so it put a lot of guys on the bench. And it was different guys at different times. To his credit, when we eventually settled on playing others, he handled it really well. Kudos to him. I’m happy he’s doing well.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Former NBA top pick Greg Oden was released by the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association recently, but he appreciates the opportunity that the club gave him, Joshua Bateman of USA Today writes. “It was a great opportunity for me to come and just play basketball, which I haven’t been able to do for awhile,” Oden said. “They got me playing. For me, that’s all I can say. I’ve had a lot of years where I actually just couldn’t play and this year I’m actually able to be out there on the court and play 25 minutes when I never thought I would see over 20 minutes in a game. And I’m playing three games a week. For me, that’s just something I didn’t even think I would ever be able to do.”
Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) has released his latest mock draft and his current top three players are Ben Simmons of LSU, Duke’s Brandon Ingram and Croatian big man Dragan Bender.
JaKarr Sampson‘s contract with the Nuggets doesn’t contain any guaranteed salary beyond this season, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals (Twitter link), resolving earlier reports that conflicted. It’s a two-year pact for the minimum salary.
Joe Johnson gave back exactly $3MM in his buyout from the Nets, reports Pincus relays (Twitter link).
Kris Humphries agreed to forfeit precisely $1MM as part of his buyout with the Suns, Pincus also notes (Twitter links)

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Hawks Sign Kris Humphries

March 1st, 2016 at 6:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

TUESDAY, 6:56pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release. “As we explored opportunities to add to our team after the trade deadline, we felt it was important to prioritize experience and versatility,” coach/executive Mike Budenholzer said in the team’s statement. “Kris is a versatile veteran with playoff experience who fits well with our group and within our system. We are fortunate to have Kris join our team and would like to welcome him to the Hawks family.”

10:29pm: Humphries plans to sign a minimum-salary contract with the Hawks for the rest of the season, according to Spears.

SUNDAY, 4:31pm: The Hawks will sign power forward Kris Humphries, whom the Suns waived this afternoon, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Spears confirmed that Humphries has committed to joining the Hawks once he clears waivers.

Today’s move ends Humphries’ short stay in Phoenix, where Washington traded him in a deadline-day deal for Markieff Morris. Terms of the buyout have not been released, but Humphries is making $4.6MM this season and was due to get the same amount in 2016/17.

Humphries’ contract for next season would have been guaranteed if he had not been waived by June 30th, tweets Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. He also notes that if any team decides to claim Humphries, it would only have to pay about $1.1MM for the rest of this season, although it would absorb this season’s full salary on its cap (Twitter link).

Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops first reported Saturday night that Atlanta was the front-runner to land Humphries. The Hawks are seeking a replacement for center/forward Tiago Splitter, who will miss the rest of the season after having hip surgery.

Suns Waive Kris Humphries

February 28th, 2016 at 4:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

4:18pm: The Suns have waived Humphries, the team announced (on Twitter), confirming an earlier tweet from Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

SUNDAY, 11:01am: The Suns are expected to complete a buyout deal with Kris Humphries later today, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. The Hawks are the favorite to sign Humphries after he clears waivers, as Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops first reported Saturday. Because Humphries is being released before Tuesday’s deadline, he will be eligible to participate in the postseason with his new team. “Basketball always comes down to winning and competing, especially now that the season is so long,” Humphries said, according to Coro. “[Joining a playoff team] is always an option.”

Humphries has been in Phoenix for a little more than a week after Washington traded him there in a deadline deal for Markieff Morris. The Suns also received a top-nine protected draft pick and DeJuan Blair, who was waived on Monday. Humphries is making $4.6MM this season and in 2016/17, so it’s possible he could be giving up a substantial amount of money in the buyout.

The parting of ways with Humphries coincides with Phoenix’s desire to give more time to younger players, as Coro examines in a separate story. Interim coach Earl Watson used the team’s 18th different starting lineup of the season Saturday and wants to see more of Alex Len, Archie Goodwin and Devin Booker.

“I think it’s time to put our young guys in position, as many young guys as we can, in a position to be successful,” Watson said. “I think we have to let them be comfortable.”

The Hawks have an open roster spot and are definitely interested in Humphries, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta has been monitoring buyout candidates as it searches for a replacement for center/forward Tiago Splitter, who is out for the rest of the season after undergoing hip surgery this week. Splitter was averaging 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds through 36 games, mostly as a reserve.

Humphries could play a role in costing his former team a playoff spot if he signs with Atlanta, writes Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic. At 27-30, the Wizards are in 10th place and four games behind the Hawks in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The teams will meet three more times this season.

Suns, Kris Humphries Discuss Buyout

February 27th, 2016 at 8:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kris Humphries is in “advanced talks” with the Suns on a possible buyout, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops. He cites the Hawks as the favorites to land Humphries if the deal goes through.

Humphries was sent from Washington to Phoenix in a trade at the deadline that brought Markieff Morris to the Wizards. Since the deal, Humphries has played four games for the Suns, averaging 7.3 points and 8.0 rebounds. He is making $4.6MM this season and in 2016/17, so it’s uncertain how much money he would have to give up in the buyout.

The Hawks have a roster spot open, so no corresponding move would be needed to sign Humphries. If the deal happens, Atlanta would be his seventh team in a 12-year NBA career.