KRIS HUMPHRIES
Gets $7 million pact.
Kris Humphries isn’t getting a divorce from the Nets just yet.
League sources confirmed Humphries is expected to re-sign with the Nets today. He is expected to receive a one-year deal for roughly $7 million, as The Post’s Peter Vecsey reported in yesterday’s editions, and could be in uniform as soon as for tonight’s preseason game at the Garden against the Knicks.
The decision to bring back Humphries fills a massive void on the Nets’ roster, and gives Avery Johnson an easy choice to pencil into the starting lineup at power forward next to Brook Lopez.
The 6-foot-9 forward was one of the biggest surprises in the NBA a year ago after originally coming to the Nets in a nondescript trade with Dallas during the 2009-10 season.
The 26-year-old set career highs across the board, including in games played, starts, minutes, points, rebounds, blocks and field-goal percentage. He was one of six players in the NBA to average a double-double — he finished with 10.0 points and 10.4 rebounds — and tied with Magic superstar Dwight Howard for second in the league with 18 rebounds per 48 minutes.
The combination of an impressive showing in a contract year and a less-than-stellar free-agent class normally would mean a player like Humphries, who is just entering his prime, would be in line for a rich, multi-year deal.
But that market never seemed to materialize for him, and his tumultuous offseason likely played a role. Humphries became a feature of the gossip pages over the past year as he began to date Kim Kardashian, the reality television star, before getting engaged to and then marrying her in an elaborate, made-for-TV wedding.
Things quickly went downhill from there for the couple, with their marriage ending in divorce after just 72 days.
The relative lack of demand for Humphries played right into the plan that general manager Billy King has laid out for the franchise. By signing Humphries to a one-year deal, the Nets maintain enough cap space to land a free agent with a max deal during free agency next summer.
It would also leave the Nets with more than $10 million in cap space for this season, giving them the flexibility to both pursue targets in free agency to continue to upgrade the roster or to look at options on the trade market — with Howard, their long-standing target, first on that list.
Free agent Andrei Kirilenko remains a possibility. The 6-foot-9 former Jazz forward can be used at both small and power forward, and would give Johnson even more flexibility with the roster — something King has said was one of his main offseason goals.