And on the second day, the Knicks finally made a pick.
After trading the No. 31 selection to Houston to open the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, the Knicks went with German guard Jack Kayil at No. 39.
Kayil, 20, spent last season with Alba Berlin of Basketball Bundesliga, averaging 7.7 points and 2.8 assists on 39.8 percent shooting from the field and 35.4 percent shooting from 3-point range.
He became one of the youngest players ever to win the Bundesliga’s Best Young Player award.
“Kayil projects as a versatile combo guard, with the size, IQ and feel to fit into any offense,” his NBA draft profile reads. “He can draw NBA comparisons to players like Andrew Nembhard, Jalen Suggs and Jrue Holiday. Kayil has already proven he can produce against grown professionals in two of Europe’s toughest competitions, and the arrow only points up as he develops. Kayil is the kind of late first-round bet that could pay off big if he’s comfortable in the NBA and continues growing as a player.
He seemingly intends to make good on the Knicks’ gamble, and sooner rather than the later: he made it clear he doesn’t want to be an overseas stash play for the cash-strapped Knicks.
“My plans are to stay here and get into the organization and keep going with them,” he told reporters at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
He’ll be joined in his NBA endeavor by Tyler Nickel, a 6-foot-7 big-time shooter out of Vanderbilt who was drafted with the No. 47 pick. As a senior, he averaged 13.5 points and shot 40 percent from 3-point range.
The Knicks selected center Ugonna Onyenso out of Virginia, but quickly sent him to Detroit for cash.
