Rokas Jokubaitis to play in Summer League looking for NBA team

Lithuania international point guard Rokus Jokubaitis, who was drafted by the Knicks with the 34th-overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, is planning to play in the upcoming Summer League according to Alessandro Luigi Maggi of Sportando.

Jokubaitis, still a young 23-year-old hooper, has spent the past few seasons playing for Spanish club FC Barcelona in the country’s national league and the world-renowned EuroLeague. In that time, Joku has also become one of the most prominent players for his country.

None of that, however, has seemingly convinced the Knicks to offer him the chance to cross the pond nor the player to get comfortable with signing a low-key deal with the New York franchise.

Rokas signed a four-year contract with Barcelona back in 2021 with exit options baked into it so he could leave for the NBA without any problem in case the Knicks came calling. The Knicks, of course, never did.

The same Maggi reported that in case Jokubaitis cannot find a home in the United States next summer by joining the Knicks or signing with another franchise, then he will most probably return to Europe to sign with Zalgiris Kaunas of his native country.

This season, Joku has appeared in 28 EuroLeague games for Barcelona starting two of them and averaging 5.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 0.3 steals per game. He’s logging nearly 17 minutes per game while shooting 50% inside the arc, 30.8% from 3-point range, and 66.7% from the charity stripe.

Last year, Rokas appeared in all 39 EuroLeague games averaging 5.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 2.6 APG. He followed that with a run in the 2023 FIBA World Cup with Lithuania that ended in the quarter-finals.

In the summer tourney, Jokubaites played eight games averaging 12.6 PPG, 5.8 APG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.3 stocks a pop. He shot 49/55/82 from two, three, and the free-throw line, and he finished the tournament with an average plus/minus of 2.9.

The Knicks still hold Jokubaitis’ rights and will see all of OG Anunoby, Alec Burks, Isaiah Hartenstein, Precious Achiuwa, Shake Milton, DaQuan Jeffries, Mamadi Diakite, and Charlie Brown Jr. enter July as either restricted or unrestricted free agents, potential creating plenty of cap room where Rokas could fit. We’ll have to wait and see.