Kris Humphries wants to be in Boston, admits he never liked Rajon Rondo
Kris Humphries has had a lot of labels in his 10-year NBA career. Between stints as Kim Kardashian's husband (and ex-husband) to the league's transient reserve, there wasn't much time to be a well-liked leadership presence in any capacity.
Humphries, who turns 29 on Feb. 6, is finding his footing with the Boston Celtics. Despite the team's 10 losses on the month, Humphries is averaging 10 points and 9.1 rebounds in a season-high 26.5 minutes.
According to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, Humphries' value extends off the court, where he's becoming a popular presence in the locker room. Even though he's in the final year of his contract, he told the Globe he wants to remain a Celtic. Surprisingly, Rajon Rondo has a lot to do with that.
“I want to be a part of this whole, building this team and doing all that stuff with the new coach and all that, I want to be here,” he said. “You never know if they want you or they don’t want you or what their plans are, but I like Boston, my teammates. I’m just getting a chance to play with [Rajon] Rondo a little bit now.”
After being acquired in the offseason deal with the Nets for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry, Humphries was forced to face the wrath of Boston's franchise player.
Recall (via RsHavinFun on YouTube):
Now, playing with Rondo, Humphries can't say enough about the chemistry he brings to the team, crediting the point guard for starting the defensive game during Sunday's contest in Orlando.
Said Humphries of his teammate, who is seeing around 20 minutes on the court: "We need more Rondo on defense ... and unfortunately he's still on that minutes restriction. And how long is that restriction going?"
Rondo returned from a year-long absence after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL, and Humphries had his own ideas about the fiery guard before arriving in town:
“Yeah, I’m not going to lie, I never liked [Rondo] until I got here. And then it took me a minute to like him once I got here. He’s a competitor, even if he’s not scoring points, he’s getting assists, he can really rebound for a point guard, and defensively I was surprised what he was doing in the first quarter [Sunday]. The more he plays, the more we’re going to grow as a team. Someone new comes back, he’s gotta figure out how to do the most he can in 20 minutes, it’s kind of tricky, and I think you can expect better from him and better from us as we keep going here.”