There’s one Knick still playing competitive basketball: 2021 second-round pick Rokas Jokubaitis.
The lefty point guard, who plays for Barcelona, will battle in the EuroLeague Final Four that begins Thursday in Belgrade, Serbia.
The Knicks will send scouts to the EuroLeague Final Four to watch Jokubaitis — among others — even as the NBA Draft Combine commences in Chicago.
Barcelona will face Real Madrid in one game while Olympiacos takes on Anadolu Efes Istanbul in the other matchup.
Jokubaitis has played well this season — especially with his 3-point shooting — in his first season in the vaunted Spanish League.
Despite his progress, The Post has learned the Knicks are heavily leaning toward letting him stay in Spain for next season. That would give the 21-year-old Lithuanian another year to polish his game and get stronger.
Rokas Jokubaitis playing for Barcelona during a EuroLeague playoff game on May 3, 2022.Euroleague Basketball via GettyIn addition, the Knicks also may have cap space in 2023 with all their expiring contracts due up, giving them flexibility to offer him more than the $1 million minimum for second-round picks.
If they signed Jokubaitis this summer, the Knicks would have to eat into their $10 million mid-level exception to give Jokubaitis more than minimum wage.
And because of the expiring contracts to player such as Alec Burks and Derrick Rose, the 2023-24 roster will have more room.
In 35 EuroLeague games, Jokubaitis came off the bench, averaging 17 minutes and 7.2 points. However, he shot a sensational 59.5 percent on 3-point shots (the distance is closer than NBA distance). He also dished out 2.8 assists per game compared to 1.8 turnovers.
Jokubaitis had very similar stats in 31 games in the Spanish League, also playing 17 minutes, but shot at a lesser-but-still-solid clip of 43 percent from 3.
Another concern is Barcelona is not expected to allow Jokubaitis to play for the Knicks during the Las Vegas summer league. Barcelona already will be owed a buyout if he plays in the NBA. Last August, Jokubaitis played in three summer league games and the Knicks were happy with his ball-handling, basketball IQ and tenacity as a defender.
Rokas Jokubaitis going against FC Bayerndpa/picture alliance via Getty I The Knicks took Jokubaitis 34th in the draft, one slot ahead of New Orleans stud defensive small forward Herb Jones. The Knicks had the ability to gamble on a “Euro-stash” player because they also had the 36th pick and took point guard Miles McBride. Ironically, Jones and McBride are second cousins.
