New York Knicks reportedly plan to stash former Gonzaga commit Jack Kayil overseas

For seven months, the Gonzaga Bulldogs planned around German guard Jack Kayil playing an instrumental role on their team in the 2026-27 season.

Kayil apparently had other plans, surprising the team with his decision to stay in the NBA draft process - rather than taking his talents to Spokane, where he was projected to start in Mark Few's backcourt alongside Mario Saint-Supery and Davis Fogle.

Part of Kayil's decision was the belief he would be selected in the first round of the 2026 NBA draft, which did not happen - although he ended up going No. 39 overall with his rights traded to the NBA champion New York Knicks.

In his draft night interview, Kayil indicated his plan was to stay in the States and compete for the Knicks...but in a bit of an ironic twist, the Knicks also had other plans.

Per SNY's Ian Begley, the Knicks are planning to stash Kayil overseas with his current German club, Alba Berlin, rather than have him compete for a roster spot or a two-way contract - where he'd spend part of the season in the NBA and the rest in the G-League with the Westchester Knicks.

The Knicks' plan entering free agency is for Jack Kayil to play overseas with his current club in Germany, @IanBegley reports pic.twitter.com/ZDwHCVHJd3
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 30, 2026

Regret?

Kayil committed to Gonzaga in early October, but after switching to a new agency in April, the 6'5 guard opted to stay in the NBA draft process.

The 20-year-old was excellent last year for Alba Berlin in the Bundesliga - earning the league's Under-22 Player of the Year award - and he had an incredible opportunity to play a huge role on a top ten caliber college basketball team sitting in front of him.

Playing alongside Saint-Supery and Fogle would have allowed Kayil to show off his on-ball and off-ball skills, and he would have gotten plenty of open looks from the perimeter thanks to the gravity of Fogle and big man Braden Huff.

Instead, he's back where he started, likely earning a similar amount of money while having no leverage for his future in the NBA - beholden to one of the deepest rosters in the league, which is fully focused on winning another championship, not developing young talent.

Gonzaga has seen this movie before, with two other international players opting to go professional after initially committing to join the Zags. Fanbo Zeng, a big man from China, went undrafted and played nine games in the G League with the Ignite in 2021-22 before returning to China, where he has spent the last four seasons with the Beijing Ducks.

Meanwhile, Australian guard Alex Toohey went No. 52 in the 2025 NBA draft to the Golden State Warriors, who signed him to a two-way contract and cut him last December. He will join Graham Ike with the Warriors in the summer league, hoping to make his NBA debut in 2026-27.

While Kayil fared better than those two on draft night, it remains to be seen if this decision will haunt him in his quest to make - and stick - in the NBA.

Add us as a preferred source on Google