Kris Humphries to Washington: Silent Signing, Solid Pickup

Keeping beat with the rest of their offseason thus far, the Washington Wizards made another quiet, yet effective move by acquiring 29-year-old forward Kris Humphries from the Boston Celtics by way of a sign-and-trade.

In exchange for Humphries, the Wizards will send the trade exception they received from the Rockets last week as part of the Trevor Ariza deal to Boston.

Although Humphries has gained most of his notoriety for stuff off the court, he's put together a respectable career over the past 10 seasons with five different teams.

Let's take a look at how Humphries fits in Wasington and why this makes sense for the Wizards - keeping any Kardashian-fueled jokes to an absolute minimum.

Dollars and Sense

Humphries' new contract with the Wizards is a three-year deal worth $13 million, with the third year serving as a team-option, meaning the Wizards ultimately decide whether or not to retain Humphries for the 2016-2017 season.

A couple of things regarding the contract itself that should excite Wizards fans. First, it's an extremely fair and team-friendly deal given Humphries' production. Second, it's the perfect length in order to keep the Kevin Durant-to-DC daydream alive.

Not long before acquiring Humphries, the Wizards watched forward Trevor Booker sign with Utah after spending his first four seasons in Washington. Booker's new two-year, $10 million deal with the Jazz was reportedly much higher than the Wizards were willing to go, and Washington's front office wasn't set to budge. As a result, the team needed to find an affordable replacement with a skill set primarily made up of athleticism, toughness, and rebounding ability, and Humphries easily matched the criteria.

As for the summer of 2016, the Wizards - along with a handful of other teams - are waiting on Kevin Durant to become a free agent. If the reigning league MVP decides to explore his opportunities outside of Oklahoma City, the Wizards don't want to miss out. They'll want their books as tidy as possible in order to pitch Durantula about bringing an NBA title to his hometown of Washington, D.C.

In addition to Nene's $13 million salary set to come off the books after the 2015-2016 season, the Wizards signed former Finals MVP Paul Pierce to just a two year deal as well, meaning the Wizards - as of right now - have only John Wall and Marcin Gortat (and very safe to assume Bradley Beal) under contract for the summer of '16.

Affordable? Check. Skill set match? Check. In line for the Durant sweepstakes? Yes - and the prayers continue to mount.

Production

When discussing Humphries and his production in the past, I've heard the argument about his best seasons coming during his time with the New Jersey Nets - which coincidentally just so happens to be about the time he became a tabloid staple - and that he's yet to match that kind of output.

The counter argument, however, is simple: Humphries' best statistics were posted during the two seasons in which he played the most minutes of his career.

During the 2010-2011 season, Humphries played nearly 28 minutes a game and averaged 10 points, 10.4 rebounds, and a block in 72 games. The following season, Humphries played almost 35 minutes per game, averaging just under 14 points, 11 boards, and 1.2 blocks in 62 games.

Before those two seasons, Humphries never averaged more than 18 minutes a game in a single season. And since then, he's never averaged more than 20. Therefore, looking at Humphries' numbers per 36 minutes gives you a better idea of his production potential when he's actually on the floor.

For his career, Humphries averages 13.4 points, 11 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 blocks per 36 minutes. Last season with the Celtics, he averaged better than 15 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes, posting career-highs in both offensive rating (113) and PER (18.2).

Fit

Although watching Booker leave town for Utah isn't considered front page news, it was a meaningful loss for the Wizards. Not only was a Booker a key piece on the Wizards' bench, logging more than 21 minutes per game, but he was also a reliable call-upon option - like when he filled in for the injured Nene late in the season last year as Washington fought to secure a playoff spot. And filled in well.

The Wizards needed a replacement for that - a strong interior player with a good combination of toughness and athleticism, and a guy coaches could count on to crash the boards. In addition to his 21.6 minutes, Booker was also good for more than 11 points and 8 rebounds per 36 minutes last season.

With Humphries, the Wizards replenish their board-crashing type, and likely improve their bench scoring. Humphries shot 81 percent from the free throw line last season (improving in each of the last three years), shot better than 50 percent from the field, and offers deceiving range, knocking down almost 48 percent of his jumpers outside of 16 feet last season.

Temporarily ignoring the cost and focusing strictly on talent, adding Humphries is a net win for the Wiz. There's no concern regarding his effort or rebounding ability, he adds scoring potential to a bench that ranked 29th in the league in points per game last season, and he's reliable insurance for Nene, whether coaches want to take some work away from the big Brazilian during the regular season, or in the unfortunate case Nene goes down (which is arguably the safest running prop bet in all of Vegas).

Peculiar Win-Win

It's not every day Wizards fans can praise their general manager. But this signing - along with the Pierce addition and Marcin Gortat deal (albeit more debatable) - earns Ernie Grunfeld a pat on the back.

In past seasons, Grunfeld and the Wiz would've laid down for guys threatening to leave town for more money, handing over a blank check and asking where to sign. But this summer, they've drawn hard lines and haven't wavered, whether it be high-dollar guys like Ariza, or rotational players such as Booker. Instead, they've trusted in their plan (#KD2DC) and made effective, more cost-friendly moves to help recuperate for lost talent and build toward the future.

Kris Humphries is another one of those moves. Although it won't make much of a ripple now, people will get a sense of how good the deal was for the Wizards when he's posting double-doubles come playoff time.