The Lakers selected De Larrea with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and traded his rights to the Knicks, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.
The Knicks traded down one spot with the Lakers to secure De Larrea at No. 25, adding an incredibly polished and crafty international playmaker to their backcourt. The 20-year-old Spanish point guard is coming off an excellent development cycle with Valencia Basket, where he earned Liga Endesa Best Young Player honors while averaging 9.7 points per game and displaying an advanced feel for the game. Standing at 6-foot-6 barefoot with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, De Larrea boasts elite positional size that allows him to survey the floor, pick apart defenses in the pick-and-roll and comfortably see over opposing guards. He was lethal from deep against professional competition this past season, draining 40.7 percent of his three-pointers on respectable volume. While there are legitimate concerns about his lack of elite vertical explosion and foot speed translating to the NBA defensive spacing, his high basketball IQ and patient pacing make him a very stable prospect. Because the newly crowned champion Knicks boast a locked-in backcourt anchored by Jalen Brunson, New York has the luxury of playing the long game with De Larrea. He represents an ideal draft-and-stash candidate or a low-pressure backup floor general who can refine his physical tools before stepping into a multi-positional secondary playmaking role at the next level.