Knicks Rumors: Reasons To Love The Mindaugas Kuzminskas Signing

1. Upside: Scorer

Mindaugas Kuzminskas has the skill to be a force in the modern NBA. At just under 6’10”, Kuzminskas is both surprisingly athletic, intriguingly aggressive, and undeniably skilled.

Kuzminskas may be coming to the NBA relatively late in his career, but at 26 years of age, it’s not hard to see why he’s been compared to former New York Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari.

At 6’10” with a 6’11” wingspan, Kuzminskas has the size and length to shoot over a vast majority of defenders. Whether it’s a catch-and-shoot situation or a floater in traffic, it’s difficult to adequately contest Kuzminskas’ shot.

Coupled with his impressive end-to-end speed for a 6’10” player with the ball in their hands, it stands to reason that he’s joining the Knicks at the perfect time.

Jeff Hornacek wants to run an up-tempo offense, which would enable Kuzminskas to get easy transition buckets early in his NBA career. In the halfcourt, Kuzminskas needs to improve his handles, but is more than capable of attacking a poor closeout or spotting up from beyond the arc.

When Kuzminskas has an opportunity to finish above the rim, that’s exactly what he’ll attempt to do.

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Kuzminskas is being brought on as a role player, but the Lithuanian forward has upside in abundance—upside that the Knicks will have the opportunity to explore.