Getty Rokas Jokubaitis #0 of the New York Knicks passes against the Detroit Pistons during the 2021 NBA Summer League.
New York Knicks‘ stash pick Rokas Jokubaitis will stay in the EuroLeague for at least one more season.
The 22-year-old Lithuanian guard revealed his future plans at the start of the national team’s training camp for the upcoming 2023 FIBA World Cup.
“Everything’s agreed upon,” Jokubaitis said via Basketnews. “I signed a 1+1+1+1 deal with Barca, the plus in the contract has been activated in July again. I still have a contract with them.”
Jokubaitis’ Euroleague and national commitments kept him from playing in the recently concluded NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
“I’ll still need to talk to my agent. Maybe he’s heard something while he was in the US. The Barca management has already contacted me. Everything is in order. There’s nothing to be worried about,” Jokubaitis added.
It appears the Knicks are in no rush to get Jokubaitis, the 2021 34th overall pick, to the NBA after adding another guard in Donte DiVincenzo in free agency. As currently constructed, the Knicks have a glut in guards.
After playing two games in the 2021 NBA Summer League, Jokubaitis went on to win the EuroLeague Rising Star award in 2022.
The 6-foot-4 guard won the Spanish Liga Endesa with Barca last year, the first in his career. He appeared in all 39 games in the EuroLeague last season, averaging 5.3 points, 2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.
Joel Embiid Opens Door for Knicks in Cryptic Interview
In an interview with Maverick Carter at the UNINTERRUPTED Film Festival discussing the launch of his Miniature Géant Studio, reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid was candid about his future in Philadelphia amid the James Harden trade demand.
“I just want to win a championship, whatever it takes,” Embiid told Carter. “I don’t know where that’s going to be — whether in Philly or anywhere else — I just want to have a chance to accomplish that. I want to see what it feels like to win that first one, and then you think about the next one. It’s not easy. It takes more than one, two, three guys. You got to have good people around you. Every single day, I work hard to be at that level so I can produce and make it happen. Every single day I’m working towards that goal.”
SNY’s Ian Begley recently named the Knicks as a potential Embiid suitor.
“If Embiid gets upset, unhappy, softly demands a trade, or anything above that, I’m sure the Knicks will be right there,” Begley said on the July 13 episode of The Lowe Post with Zach Lowe podcast.
Evan Fournier Frustrated at Knicks for Killing His Value
Evan Fournier did not hold back in a bombshell interview with French outlet L’Equipe about his frustrating second season with the Knicks.
“If you want to trade me with a good return, why didn’t you use me? I was coming out of a season where I was the fourth-best 3-point shooter in the league. Why not take advantage of it?” Fournier told L’Equipe. “Now they won’t get anything interesting and that’s normal because I couldn’t show anything [on the court].”
The Knicks are in a bind looking for a new home for the disgruntled French guard, who was banished from the rotation last season.
“I would be shot [if I stay]. I’m going to be traded, it’s not possible otherwise. Or I’d be stuck, and so would they. They have several players with big contracts coming in. Unless they want to pay a crazy luxury tax… If I stayed, it would be a disaster basketball-wise for my career,” Fournier said. “I can manage a year without playing. Two… that would be terrible.”