Milwaukee Bucks reportedly interested in Mindaugas Kuzminskas

According to a report from Michael Scotto, the Milwaukee Bucks are interested in former New York Knicks forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas.

The Milwaukee Bucks made a splash by acquiring Eric Bledsoe from the Phoenix Suns just over a week ago, and they may not be done in making adjustments to their roster just yet.

Although the path to adding more players isn’t exactly straight forward for the Bucks at this time, a report from Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders suggests that Mindaugas Kuzminskas, a player who recently hit the open market may be forcing them to consider their options.

Mindaugas Kuzminskas was waived by the New York Knicks on November 12, in order to create a roster spot for Joakim Noah as he returned from injury.

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Kuzminskas, 28, spent one season with the Knicks following a successful career in both his native Lithuania, and Spain. In that time in New York, Kuzminskas averaged 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 68 games, while playing 14.9 minutes per game and shooting 42.8 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from deep.

Kuzminskas is a skilled forward with a high motor, who can play either the 3 or 4 spot as he measures in at 6’9″ and 215lbs.

In the press release announcing the decision to waive Kuzminskas, Knicks general manager Steve Mills remarked:

"“The respect this franchise has for Mindaugas cannot be overstated. His professionalism and work ethic were greatly appreciated by teammates, coaches and the entire staff. This decision was extremely tough for us. We wish him nothing but the best moving on with his playing career.”"

Via Twitter, Kuzminskas also followed up with a classy statement of his own.

In the immediate aftermath of Kuzminskas’ departure Marc Berman of the New York Post suggested the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers as teams expected to be interested in the Lithuanian.

Sportando also relayed a quote from Kuzminskas to reporter Donatas Urbonas, where the former Knick said:

"“My priority is NBA. But who knows, maybe nobody needs me. Then I would consider return to Europe. If I needed money, I would have stayed in New York. I want to play, not to sit on the bench.”"

With a full roster at present, the Bucks would be required to make further moves in order to be able to come to terms on any kind of deal with Kuzminskas.

The easiest route would be for Milwaukee to waive DeAndre Liggins and his non-guaranteed contract, but with Liggins currently impressing as a regular contributor within the rotation that seems somewhat unlikely.

Having saved some money in the Bledsoe deal, the Bucks are also slightly further away from the luxury tax than they were just a couple of weeks ago. That created flexibility for further dealings, and with an obvious desire to continue shopping certain players on their roster, and armed with trade exceptions, there are ways the Bucks could make room for Kuzminskas or any other via free agency or trade, even if it would take multiple transactions to complete a deal.

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With the Bucks in the midst of a four-game winning streak since acquiring Bledsoe, it remains to be seen whether Jon Horst decides to make further adjustments at present. In the meantime, Kuzminskas will certainly remain as a name to watch closely in terms of potential developments.