Knicks Notes: Kuzminskas, Noah, O’Quinn, Porzingis

Mindaugas Kuzminskas is among several Knicks waiting for the team’s next move once Joakim Noah‘s suspension ends, tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Noah is serving the last of his 20 games tonight, which means a roster change should happen soon. The Knicks have 15 other players under contract, so an opening will have to be created before Noah can be activated.

Kuzminskas, who was inactive for tonight’s contest, told reporters he is anxious to see what the team decides to do. He is making $3,025,035 in the final year of his contract, which may be a lot for the Knicks to absorb when Ramon Sessions, Jarrett Jack and Michael Beasley are all signed for the veterans’ minimum of $1,471,382. However, Kuzminskas has barely played this season, getting into one game for just two minutes of action. That follows a promising rookie year in which he averaged 6.8 points in 68 games.

There’s more news out of New York:

• Noah isn’t sure how he will fit into the team’s logjam at center, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Enes Kanter has taken over the starting job since being acquired in a trade with the Thunder, and Kyle O’Quinn has emerged as the primary backup. Willy Hernangomez has appeared in just six games, and playing time figures to get even tighter with four centers available. “All I can do is just be as ready as possible,’’ Noah said. “I feel like I’ve put myself in that position, grinding hard. Whatever my role is I’ll accept it. It’s tough, you know? We have a lot of very good players at our position.”
• The front office has been making calls to measure O’Quinn’s trade value, Berman writes in the same story. He has been impressive with 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in a reserve role, and the Bucks may be interested after parting with Greg Monroe this week to obtain Eric Bledsoe.
• Kristaps Porzingis isn’t just playing better this season, he’s enjoying it more, Berman notes in a separate story. Last year’s turmoil, which included Porzingis skipping his post-season exit interview then being shopped for potential trades, disappeared with the firing of team president Phil Jackson. “Yes, it was a tough year,’’ Porzingis said Friday on WFAN. “We won a lot of games in the beginning because of our talent. I could tell right away it wasn’t going to keep that up for the whole season.  It started to go downhill, it wasn’t fun anymore.  It was not a very enjoyable season.’’