Sixers add to training camp depth with Kris Humphries and Jacob Pullen

The Philadelphia 76ers added a pair of names to their training camp roster in Kris Humphries and Jacob Pullen.

With their 15-man roster seemingly set (and one two-way contract already dished out), the Philadelphia 76ers don’t have any big roster moves on the horizon. That hasn’t kept them from adding to their training camp group, though, with big man Kris Humphries and overseas stud Jacob Pullen both joining the team on what figure to be non-guaranteed deals heading into camp.

Shams Charania was the first to report the news on Humphries, who spent last season as a reserve for the Atlanta Hawks.

There’s not much notoriety in these signings. Humphries performed well in a limited role last season, but he simply doesn’t have a spot on the Sixers’ current roster. Younger names towards the back end of the rotation will get the nod based on potential, while the likes Amir Johnson and Jahlil Okafor figure to fill the role of safety net behind Joel Embiid and Richaun Holmes at the five.

Humphries biggest improvement last season was his perimeter shooting, as he hit on a respectable 35.2 percent of his 54 shots from range. That’s by no means a gaudy total, but it marked a career-high for somebody who had committed to improving his presence as a floor spacer last offseason.

The Hawks had Humphries split backup duties with Mike Muscala last year, where his solid rebounding and well-rounded, fundamentally-sound offense was enough to keep him in games. There’s a very good chance that he’d be more productive than Okafor if put on the floor next season, but the combination of trade potential and youth makes Jah an irrefutable favorite with more long-term benefits.

Being that he’s too good for a G-League contract, Humphries should latch on elsewhere on a league-minimum deal once the season gets underway. He’s quality insurance off the bench, and the Sixers will at least keep tabs on him if the injury bug chooses to strike once more.

Pullen’s projections aren’t all that different.

Pullen — a former Kansas State star and undrafted free agent back in 2011 — averaged 10.3 points per game in just 17.9 minutes on average in Eurocup play last season. The 28-year-old is on the smaller end of the point guard spectrum, measuring out as a short 6-foot-1, which leaves quite a bit to be desired on the defensive end. He does, however, fill it up at a high clip offensively, working best as a spark-plug who can score in droves off the bench, which bears resemblance to the role Jerryd Bayless is expected to hold next season.

There’s no reason to expect Pullen to out-pace Markelle Fultz, T.J. McConnell or Bayless any time soon, while James Blackmon Jr. — who will also be joining the Sixers in training camp — likely has a better shot at nabbing the Sixers’ second two-way contract, if anything at all.

Next: Top 30 players in Sixers franchise history

Pullen is a career 37.5 percent shooter from deep in Euroleague club play, but that percentage has wavered far too often elsewhere and in tournaments overseas. As a niche guard without much shot at the final roster, Pullen’s chances of sticking with the Sixers are only greater than Humphries due to the fact that he’s eligible for a two-way deal — one he’ll have tough competition for in Blackmon, among others around the league.