/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/40587708/20140929_pjc_sb4_270.JPG.0.jpg)
CSN Washington's Ben Standig noticed something interesting at the end of the Wizards' first training camp practice on Tuesday:
Getting to watch Wizards practice now. Well, more like watching them shoot. Kris Humphries taking lots of corner 3's.#WizardsTalk
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) September 30, 2014
Then, he wrote about it, with shot charts, pictures and everything. No definitive conclusions were made, because players often mess around in weird shooting contests at the end of practices that mean nothing. But the topic was raised.
So ... Kris Humphries, Stretch 4? On the one hand, Humphries was a proficient mid-range shooter last year. Taking a few steps back will make him more efficient even if his percentages fall of a bit. I'm all for eliminating long twos in the name of threes. So ... why not?
On the other hand: a power forward/center shooting corner threes is a mirage because they are generally not positioned there in a given set. Think about it: how can a guy like Humphries set ball screens and/or position himself for offensive rebounds if he's standing in the corner? The value of a shooting power forward is in his ability to drag a big man that would otherwise be in the paint out to the top of the key near the three-point line. That's a long distance to cover. The distance between the paint and the corner, on the other hand? Not as far.
Tl;dr: if Humphries is to shoot threes, it'll have to be from the wings and top of the key to make a real impact.
Also, as Umair noted in an email, Humphries' release is pretty slow.
Bottom line: while I'd love to see Humphries take a few threes, I'm not sure it's going to happen.
It'll be interesting to see what Randy Wittman says when he's asked, though. He did say the Wizards are going to try some "new age" things, so...