Rokas Jokubaitis Addresses Knicks Future After Perfect Day

At this point, Rokas Jokubaitis is the closest thing the New York Knicks will have to an urban legend: fans have claimed to have caught fleeting glimpses of the Lithuanian sharpshooter in blue and orange but he has always remained an international fancy of sorts.

Jokubaitis was anything but a mirage on Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas, which hosted the Knicks’ first win of this year’s Summer League slate. A Jokubaitis jackpot partly defined the 106-105 prevailing over the Sacramento Kings’ prospects, as he hit all seven of his tries from the field. Jokubaitis also dished out five assists, second-best on the team behind Tyler Kolek, whose game-winning and-one sealed the deal.

“He was aggressive on both sides of the floor,” Knicks summer head coach Dice Yoshimoto said, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “He got into the ball better. He’s understanding the defensive schemes better. He’s done a great job so far watching the film.”

The ongoing Las Vegas Summer League slate serves as Jokubaitis’ second Manhattan tour, one long in the making. He previously embarked on a Sin City tour in 2021, shortly after the Knicks acquired him in a draft night deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jokubaitis’ Wednesday win will no doubt have Knicks wondering if Manhattan weeknights are in his future. The 23-year-old addressed the future in the aftermath of the midweek win and it appears that he’ll continue to be the object of metropolitan fantasy thanks to a lingering contract with Spanish club FC Barcelona Basquet.

“(I) have a few games remaining and then we will see. I will come back home to rest a little bit and then we will see where I’ll play next season,” Jokubaitis said, per Popper. “I still have a contract so we’re waiting for the information, just waiting for the information because (there’s) a new coach so he’s still deciding so I still have the contract with Barca and that’s all I know.”

International duties aren’t the only reason why Jokubaitis’ New York future is murky: the Knicks’ backcourt affairs obviously begin with Jalen Brunson and they now boast one of the deepest groups in the league after trading for Mikal Bridges and re-upping with OG Anunoby.

Adding Bridges will likely move Donte DiVincenzo to the bench next to Miles McBride and that doesn’t account for the arrivals of Kolek and Cameron Payne, the latter of whom was signed this week after spending the past campaign with Milwaukee and Philadelphia.

As it stands, Knicks fans still have two opportunities to take on Jokubaitis’ antics: the baby Knicks (1-2) face the Detroit Pistons on Friday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) before wrapping things up against Atlanta’s prospects on Saturday evening. Jokubaitis has come off the bench in each of the first three games, shooting 12-of-17 from the field and pairing eight assists with three steals.

Yoshimoto, the Knicks’ longtime Summer League supervisor, praised Jokubaitis’ progress after Wednesday’s win.

“I think he’s gotten a little bit more comfortable,” Yoshimoto said in Popper’s report. “I like his decision-making. I like how he got downhill making the plays. I think his defense has gotten better. Those are things I’d like to see more of. Playing at the high level in Europe, obviously he has gotten better.”

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