Season-In-Review: Kris Humphries

The 72-day marriage of these two was maybe the only reason anyone talked about the Nets last season in a situation not regarding Benedict Howard..no, Dwight Arnold? Ok, I give up, Dwight Howard.

This post, along with the other posts I will do in the Season-In-Review series, will take a deeper look at how all the Nets did last season on the court and possibly off of it. We continue with the ex-husband of Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries. Marshon Brooks was covered last.

I can't believe it! OMG! Kris was soooo mean to Kim!!.....Whoops, forgot that Kris Humphries is a basketball player too and not just some caption in People Magazine.

Humphries' 2011-12 season was overshadowed--somewhat ridiculously--because of his failed marriage to a member of the least talented family in the US, the Kardashians! Hump was booed in the first half of the season at nearly every road arena the Nets played in last season and even sometimes at the Prudential Center too for his involvement and eventual divorce with the with reality TV star. No, seriously, that's something that actually happened. This isn't one of those absurd hypothetical situations that Bill Simmons dreamed up.

Pop culture aside, Kris (Humphries, not Jenner) had his best season during his NBA career in the 2011-12 year, putting up career-highs in points (13.8 per game), rebounds (11 per), assists (1.5 per), and blocks (1.2 per). Hump's career season is just yet another peak in his career with the Nets, which started in 2010 after being traded to New Jersey from Dallas with Shawne "Extra-E" Williams for Eduardo Najera. Prior to joining the team, Kris bounced around the Jazz, Raptors, and Mavs organizations, serving a limited role and not providing much value on the court and in the box score to those teams.

Dwight Howard Stays in Orlando Until End of 2012-13; Nets Rebound by Trading For Gerald Wallace

Nope, he won't be with the Nets this season

That's right. Dwight Howard did the seemingly unthinkable and waived the ETO (early termination option) on his current contract, meaning he has essentially opted-in to the final year of his deal with Orlando. Like everyone else, I was shocked to hear this news and was simply disappointed with the terrible way that Howard dealt with the whole situation. Last night, it was reported by a few writers that Dwight would be waiving his ETO but just hours later, the opposite was circulating around the internet and TV. Then, earlier this morning, the Magic center announced he would in fact sign the ETO and stay with the team that drafted him for at last another season.

Contrary to what most people believe, this is not the end of the Dwightmare and it isn't the end of the Nets' chances of going into the Barclays Center next year with a good team. The news with Howard simply means that this whole debacle of a "will he stay or go" situation is just pushed back to the trade deadline of next season until all the speculation starts again. On the other hand, Nets' GM Billy King wasted absolutely no time in making this team better right now by trading for the Portland Trailblazers' SF Gerald Wallace. In the deal, the Nets gave up the expiring contract of Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a 1st-round pick.

Of course Wallace is no even close to the talent level of Dwight Howard but he is a very suitable Plan B to appease Deron Williams, at least in the meantime. For those of you that aren't familiar with Wallace, he is a great defender and will really help the Nets' dreadful perimeter defense. His arrival also probably means that DeShawn Stevenson won't be starting anymore for this team and may be relegated to a reserve role. Wallace, a 12-year NBA vet who is only 30 years old, is averaging 13 points and six rebounds a game this season, numbers which are much down from earlier in his career, especially when he was with the Charlotte Bobcats.

Mid-Season Primer: Where Exactly Do the Nets Stand At the Mid-Point of the Season

Deron has been the only consistent positive force for the Nets this entire season and at points, it seems like its too much for him to handle but at other points, it seems like he thrives on that adversity and uses it to improve his game

Record: 10-25


Standings: 5th in the Atlantic Division, 13th in the Eastern Conference, 27th in the NBA

Summary
Much like last season, this condensed 2011-2012 Nets season has been riddled by injuries, underperformance, and trade rumors. Even though Deron Williams has played in all games except for one, New Jersey is still close to the bottom of the NBA but has been playing better basketball of late. Not having Brook Lopez for the first 32 games of the season was heartbreaking for a Nets team that clearly suffered from lack of a proven post-scoring center. Meanwhile, New Jersey has suffered more injuries across the board as coach Johnson has had to use a league-high 17 different starting line-ups due to the multitude of injuries.

The position of obvious weakness for the Nets has been at small forward where the first three guys on the depth chart are all out for the season with injuries after under-performing when they were healthy. Shawne Williams, Keith Bogans, and Damion James were all given their chance to start this year and either lost their jobs due to underperformance (Williams) or gruesome and out-of-the-blue injuries (James and Bogans). The Nets simply haven't been able to catch a break at that position the whole season but with the recent signing of Gerald Green from the D-League, that might all change.

Shawne Williams Done for Season

No preview for tonight's big game with the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard at the Prudential Center but I do have some injury news to share. As expected, Shawne Williams' foot injury and resulting surgery will keep him out for the rest of this season. Williams' season-ending injury is the Nets' league-leading 3rd so far from this condensed 2011-12 NBA season as he joins Keith Bogans and Damion James as the other injury victims.

Netlinked 2/21/12: Morrow loses some teeth, Shawne Williams needs surgery, Deron to the Skills Competition, and Much more

In the aftermath of last night's rousing Nets win over the hated Knicks, it was found that Anthony Morrow got a few of his teeth knocked out because of a dirty Carmelo Anthony elbow that didn't even get called a foul. The play in question was late in the 4th quarter and looked pretty serious but it obviously wasn't that bad if Morrow was able to re-enter the game just a few moments later. He is probably going to be able to play on Wednesday against the Magic.

Another Net got some injury news yesterday, albeit it was worse than Morrow's. The Nets have announced that Shawne Williams, who hasn't played since February 11th, will require surgery on Wednesday to remove a piece of bone in his left foot. A timetable isn't known on his return but I would give him all the time he needs. The Nets need healthy bodies but Williams has been so bad this year that I would rather have one less player than have him suit up and play.

We also have some news regarding the Nets involved in this week's upcoming All-Star festivities. First off, Anthony Morrow will pay tribute to the late Nets great Drazen Petrovic, who died in a tragic car accident in 1993 when he was only 28 years of age. Anthony will wear Petrovic's number 3 during the 3-point shooting contest.

After the jump are some more Nets news tidbits...

Injury Update: Damion James to Undergo Surgery, Shawne Williams Expected Back Soon

According to the Newark Star-Ledger, small forward Damion James will undergo surgery on his right foot on Tuesday to replace a screw that was already implanted in James' foot last season. There is no timetable for his return. This is tough news for the Nets as James is a solid defender and rebounder but he can never seem to stay healthy since the Nets acquired him during the 2010 Draft out of Texas.

The Nets also received some good news regarding injuries today as it appears that Shawne Williams will play limited minutes tomorrow against Charlotte (same link as above). Having Shawne Williams back in the line-up gives the Nets another shooter and big body to hopefully break the team out of its extended shooting slump.