Rokas

Jokubaitis

A second-round pick of the Thunder (who traded his draft rights to the Knicks) in the 2021 NBA Draft, Jokubaitis has yet to appear in an NBA game. He spent last season with FC Barcelona and is now headed to Israel on a three-year pact with Maccabi Tel Aviv. While Jokubaitis played well in Las Vegas, the additions of second-round pick Tyler Kolek and free agent signing Cameron Payne would make it difficult for him to earn rotation minutes behind Jalen Brunson.

After failing to qualify for the Paris Olympics with Lithuania, Jokubaitis joined the Knicks in Las Vegas for summer league. He’s come off the bench and has functioned well in that role, providing scoring and playmaking from the guard position. Whether or not the Knicks will have room for Jokubaitis on their regular season roster remains to be seen, as second-round draft pick Tyler Kolek has been signed to a four-year deal. Jokubaitis spent last season with Barcelona in Spain’s ACB.

Jokubaitis was the 34th pick as a draft-and-stash selection for the Knicks. The Lithuanian guard appeared in 35 games for FC Barcelona, and while his stats don’t jump off the page, he has shot the ball with tremendous efficiency. It remains to be seen how long he’ll remain overseas.

The 34th overall pick recently said it was an “option” to stay with the Knicks during the 2021-22 season, but that was always considered a longshot. We’ll closely monitor his development overseas.

When the Knicks selected Jokubaitis with the 34th overall pick in last month’s draft, it was widely assumed he’d spend at least one season as a “draft-and-stash,” playing the Spanish ACB League for Barcelona. However, he told reporters this weekend that playing for the Knicks in 2021-22 is “very, very intriguing, adding, “right now, the plan is to go to Europe, but you never know in basketball, because basketball is a sport where anything can happen.” Much will depend on how Jokubaitis performs in the Las Vegas Summer League, which begins Sunday afternoon.

The Knicks got this pick and pick No. 36 by trading pick No. 32 to OKC earlier, and Jokubaitis is the first selection to come from this trade. He played three years in the EuroLeague and averaged just 5.1 points in 14.8 minutes per game, but has some size as a 6’4” point guard and is just 20 years old. It’s worth noting, however, that he may not come over right away, so we’ll have to wait for official word that he’ll be on the roster come opening night.