What Boston received from the Washington Wizards for Kris Humphries


Now that the Washington Wizards trade for Kris Humphries is official, here's what Boston got out of the deal.



The trade exception is the real get here, considering Humphries could have signed to another team outright with Boston receiving nothing in return. That exception could be used as part of a larger move down the road. It can't be combined with players to make a bigger trade, but could be part of a smaller, simultaneous trade where Boston takes on the salary of a player or players making up to $4.25 million combined.

It could also be used to collect more assets, like the Paul Pierce trade exception was used recently to nab another first rounder, young center Tyler Zeller and Marcus Thornton's expiring contract.

The second-round pick in this trade has a chance to be conveyed as well. It's top-49 protected, which means if Washington is one of the 11 best teams in the league next season, Boston gets the pick. Typically when teams send over second rounders in deals like this, the pick is top-55 protected with little chance of actually being sent over, like the second-round pick Boston owns from the Sacramento Kings in 2015. It would be nothing short of a miracle if the Kings are one of the top-5 teams in the league next year.

But Washington finishing in the top-11? It's far from a guarantee, but much more likely with an up-and-coming backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal, a two-headed monster of a frontcourt with Nene and Marcin Gortat and recently acquired Pierce in the East.

While it would have been nice to hold onto Humphries, considering how well he played last year, as well as his attitude, it's good to see him on a team with real playoff aspirations. And getting tangible assets back for a free agent helps to ease the pain.

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