Knicks Sign Willy Hernangomez, Mindaugas Kuzminskas

The New York Knicks added two more players to round out their bench, going overseas to add Willy Hernangomez and Mindaugas Kuzminskas.

The New York Knicks have been the punchline for plenty of jokes in recent seasons, but it is tough to poke fun at their offseason. Phil Jackson has done an excellent job rebuilding this roster essentially on the fly, putting together a roster that has greatly upgraded in talent across the board this offseason via trades and savvy signings.

The Knicks were able to fill their point guard need by trading for Derrick Rose, and then dove head first into the free agent market. While some may not agree with the four-year guaranteed contract that Joakim Noah received, it set the tone that the Knicks were going to be aggressive, and that they were.

Following Noah, the Knicks then added Courtney Lee at shooting guard, giving them a formidable starting five with Rose, Lee, Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis and Noah. The bench was an issue though, but Jackson get to work fixing that as well.

He got a steal in Brandon Jennings, signing him to a one-year, $5 million deal. Jackson then retained Lance Thomas despite receiving offers with more money from other teams. He also acquired Justin Holiday along with Rose from the Chicago Bulls, giving the Knicks a solid foundation for their second unit.

Jackson continued adding to that second unit on Monday, bringing over two international prospects; Willy Hernangomez and Mindaugas Kuzminskas.

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Hernangomez was selected by the Knicks 35th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft after acquiring the pick from the Philadelphia 76ers. They stashed him overseas, but all signs pointed to the him coming over for this season.

Hernangomez’s agent, Andy Miller, made it clear last month that he wanted his client to join the Knicks this season, and his wish came true. Hernangomez is good friends with phenom Porzingis, as the two were teammates Porzingis’ final two years over in Europe.

It would be unfair to assume that Hernangomez will play as many minutes or have as big an impact as Porzingis did right away, but ESPN’s NBA Draft Insider and International expert Fran Fraschilla is high on Hernangomez.

Fraschilla said that Hernangomez is the exact opposite of his brother, Juan Hernangomez, whom the Denver Nuggets selected in the first round of the NBA Draft this year. While Juan is a prototypical stretch-four, Fraschillia describes Willy as, “the opposite. He’s a big banger, backup 5, backup 4, just a banger.”

Head coach Jeff Hornacek is excited to get to work with Willy, saying, “He’s ready to come over here,” Hornacek said. “He had a pretty good year over there in Europe. He’s a big body, skilled; he’s a low-post guy that will fit good in the system.”

It is also reported that Hernangomez signed a multi-year deal with the Knicks, of at least three years in length, but the money was unknown. More than likely the Knicks used whatever was remaining of their cap space to bring Hernangomez over, as part their exception was reportedly used on Kuzminskas.

It seems that the Knicks needed to give Kuzminskas more than the minimum if they wanted to land him, as he was also being pursued by the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks. He is someone that Jackson has had his eyes on for a while now, as they first saw him play when scouting Hernangomez while stashed overseas.

Kuzminskas had a solid season last year with Malga of the Spanish League. He averaged 12 points while shooting 37.7 percent from behind the three-point line, a career-high, to go with 3.4 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game.

Here is what Fraschilla has to say about the 26-year old, 6-foot-9 inch Lithuanian:

"“He’s an athletic, big wing who can guard multiple positions, so that gives him a chance to play in the league,” Fraschilla said. “He’s always been a below-average outside shooter. But he’s athletic and he’s got a great motor. He’s not exactly Jonas Jerebko, but he’s in that mold. … He’s athletic, he runs, he can jump and can guard 3s and small-ball 4s. He’s got a really good motor; he’s a solid, quality guy who can fit right in and he’ll play hard every day. If he can turn into a Jerebko, this would be a steal for the Knicks. At worst, it’s a good gamble and it fills out the roster.”"

With what the NBA game is turning into these days, it is imperative to have versatile players that can fill a number of roles like it sounds that Kuzminskas can. With what Frascilla is saying, the 37.7 percent three-point shooting may be an outlier, but there is some things to like.

High motor players can always find a role on an NBA team, as the Madison Square Garden crowd loves a player that gives the game their all and goes all out on the court. He is regarded as a solid defender and high character guy, something that should mesh well with any locker room as he can put his ego aside and do what is best for the team.

He recently signed a deal with a Turkish team, whose head coach is now David Blatt, but has a reasonable NBA buyout of $675,000. He is expected to fly to New York to sign his contract once Lithuania is finished with Olympic Qualifying later in the month.

Next: 30 Greatest Players In New York Knicks History

With Hernangomez and Kuzminskas now officially signed, the Knicks roster sits at 11 players. Langston Galloway had his qualifiyng offer withdrew, but the Knicks can go over the salary cap to retain him. After that, they will have whatever is remaining of their exception and minimum deals to fill out the remainder of the roster.

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New York Knicks Sign Willy Hernangomez, Mindaugas Kuzminskas

By Kenneth Teape | Jul 6, 2016

The New York Knicks added two more players to round out their bench, going overseas to add Willy Hernangomez and Mindaugas Kuzminskas.