Knicks Rumors: Reasons To Love The Mindaugas Kuzminskas Signing

2. Positional Versatility

In Europe, Mindaugas Kuzminskas has played small forward. He has elite size for the position, as well as the necessary level of athleticism to get out in transition, get by a defender in isolation, and finish above the rim.

In the modern NBA, however, Kuzminskas may be destined for a role that would make him the ultimate complement to Kristaps Porzingis: that of a stretch 4.

Porzingis is projected long-term as a center, which means New York will need a power forward to play alongside him. It’d irrational to state that Kuzminskas is destined to fill that role, but it’d also be irresponsible to state that he can’t.

According to Synergy Sports, Kuzminskas is proficient as both a spot-up shooter ad post player in isolation.

That’s not even fair for the competition.

Kuzminskas’ ability to score from the post and shoot with efficiency on spot-up opportunities make him an ideal long-term power forward. He may play small forward in the short term, but he has the size and shooting range to make it work from the 4.

It all comes down to how New York chooses to develop its new international sensation

No matter the preferred course of action, the knowledge that positional versatility exists is comforting.

If the Knicks believe that Kuzminskas can live up to the Danilo Gallinari hype, then he’d be worth placing at small forward. If New York sees him as a long-term power forward, however, there’s reason to believe he’d thrive in that capacity.

When a player is looking to earn their place on a roster, very little goes in their favor quite like positional versatility.

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