Forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas was let go by the New York Knicks in a move most assumed was to open a spot on the roster for the soon-to-be-back Joakim Noah from a 20-game suspension.
However, it seems that the decision to cut Kuzminskas loose over veteran point guard Ramon Sessions, who would've been cheaper to let go, was also brought about by the unpredictable backcourt situation in New York according to Ian Begley of ESPN.
One factor in decision to waive Kuzminskas over Ramon Sessions, as reported by @wojespn, was due to the recent injury history of Jarrett Jack, per sources. The Knicks have to eat around $3 million to waive Kuzminskas— about 700K more than they would have if they waived Sessions.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) November 12, 2017
As Begley points out, the Knicks could’ve kept Kuzminskas and chose to part ways with Sessions instead but doing so would mean that New York will only have rookie Frank Ntilikina as Jarrett Jack’s backup in case Jack goes down. Jack has torn his ACL before, causing him to miss 50 games back in the 2015-16 season as part of the Brooklyn Nets.
Jack has given the Knicks a steady, veteran anchor in the backcourt, and he’s been one of the big reasons the Knicks have been competitive this season.
Moreover, there seem to be zero interests in taking Noah via a trade. Noah has two years left on his contract after this season worth approximately $37 million. That’s a lot of money to pay a damaged player, who’s already past his prime.
That left Kuzminskas as the odd man out. Kuzminskas played just one game this season but appeared in 68 contests a year ago. Back then, he averaged 6.3 points and 1.9 rebounds on 14.9 minutes per game.
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