Knicks Get Bad News About Former Draft Pick

Jokubaitis, 24, was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the No. 34 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. However, his rights were traded to the Knicks on draft night along with Miles McBride for big man Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and he has remained part of the Knicks organization in the back pocket.

After considering a move to the NBA, Jokubaitis left Zalgiris Kaunas in his native Lithuania to sign a contract with FC Barcelona, where he stayed until 2024. After his time was up in Barcelona, Jokubaitis headed over to Israel, where he signed a one-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Now, instead of coming over to the States, Jokubaitis is signing a contract with Bayern Munich to keep him in Europe until 2028.

Jokubaitis is one of the top rising players in Europe, helping his club in Lithuania win three championships and Barcelona win the Spanish Cup in 2022. While he hasn't won any championships or honors in the past few years, he remains one of the hottest prospects in the world.

The Knicks could have benefitted from adding a player like Jokubaitis, who would have competed for backup point guard minutes if he signed with the NBA club this season. However, he doesn't appear to be part of New York's plans for a while after this.

That's different than what Jokubaitis was saying a year ago when he was with the Knicks at the Las Vegas Summer League.

“With years of maturity, experience I have from Europe, I think I’m ready,” Jokubaitis said in Las Vegas, via the New York Post. “And I would like to come here. … There are a lot of different things between this basketball and European basketball. Here, there’s not so much rules or play, just to feel your teammates.

“So it’s a good thing for me to know as many basketball [styles as possible]. European, American basketball, as many as possible because I don’t know where I’m going to play in my life.”

Maybe one day Jokubaitis will be a Knick, but it isn't coming anytime soon, especially after his knee injury.