Why Jack Kayil Staying Overseas Is Good News for the Knicks

The Knicks' offseason has been relatively quiet. While there were some questions when the summer started, most of them have been answered. The starters remain locked up for now. The main bench contributors outside of Mitchell Robinson will be returning, and the team brought on Andre Drummond as its backup center.

The only remaining questions surrounding the team were the uncertainty about who the third-string center would be and how the Knicks would handle the future of their two draft picks: Tyler Nickel and Jack Kayil.

Where Tyler Nickel will play basketball in the 2026-27 season remains unknown, but the Knicks did get an answer about where Jack Kayil will be playing.

On Friday morning, the German point guard announced that he'd be returning to Alba Berlin on a newly signed five-year deal. Initially, some fans were disappointed in the rookie's decision. While the 20-year-old remains very raw, he flashed some potential during Summer League, and some believed that spending time with the team could be a good learning experience. But this is good news. In fact, this might be the best-case scenario.

Jack Kayil's Decision Could Be Exactly What the Knicks Needed

There were two bad scenarios for the Knicks in this situation. One of them would be him not being in the G League or in Europe, and instead spending the entire season sitting on the bench getting little to no in-game reps. Sure, Kayil could get occasional minutes in blowouts, but barring major injuries, it was unlikely he would be a consistent contributor to the upcoming season.

Not only is he not ready yet, but he's buried in the depth chart behind a very backcourt-heavy roster. The other worst-case scenario would be the Knicks somehow losing their rights to him. Even though he has a long way to go, he's still a young player and one that the Knicks used a draft pick on. Losing him for nothing, and potentially seeing him break out with another franchise down the road, would have been unfortunate.

With Kayil's decision, New York avoided both scenarios. The Knicks get to keep his draft rights, which is significant because they can now have a developing prospect under their control without it impacting their current roster flexibility or salary cap situation.

The draft-and-stash prospect will also now have plenty of time to continue working on his craft and should gain precious experience playing in a professional league instead of rotting on the bench.

The hope, though, is that he makes it over eventually. Kayil made it clear that the NBA remains his "big dream". But it's important to note that most stashed international draft picks don't actually ever sign an NBA contract.

Since 2016, there have been over a dozen draft-and-stash players who have never signed a contract. And chances are, none of them ever do. One of those guys is former Knicks pick Rokas Jokubaitis. He, along with the Knicks, kept teasing fans with a potential move. But that never materialized.

The Knicks should make sure they don't end up repeating that mistake. Kayil needs to continue working on his jump shot and ball handling. But he seems to have the athleticism, toughness, and baseline makeup of someone who could one day be a major contributor for the Knicks.

Sometimes, we see 20-year-old prospects get drafted by a team, but they don't have a path to win a rotation spot. They may be a solid shooter but a bad athlete, or a great defender with an awful shot, or a smart player but with no standout skill to build on.

In his limited time during Summer League, you could at least imagine what kind of player he could be—something we can't always say about stashed prospects. While still a work in progress, he can create his own shot, make tough shots, get to the basket, and play as a primary or secondary ball handler.

A developed version of him could be extremely valuable for a team with limited financial flexibility like the Knicks. And at his age, he could inject some much-needed youth and, along with Mohamed Diawara, act as a bridge to the next core. From here on out, it's just about continuing to develop and finding that requisite consistency. Playing back in Germany most efficiently allows him to do that. And if and when he is ready, hopefully the Knicks are prepared to make space for him.

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