The wait seemed endless for Maciej Lampe. As each selection was announced in the N.B.A. draft on Thursday night, he would wait to hear his name, then slump in disappointment until he was finally chosen by the Knicks with the first pick of the second round.

That turned out be be the easy part.

Now Lampe must find a way to stay here. An 18-year-old with so much potential that his selection energized the fans at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Lampe held court yesterday when he was introduced along with the Knicks' first-round pick, Mike Sweetney, and the second-round project, Slavko Vranes.

Lampe's plummet from a projected No. 5 pick all the way to the second round had little to do with his potential on the court. His troubles involve a contractual entanglement.

When Lampe was 15, he signed with Real Madrid, the powerhouse of the Spanish League. He earned little money as he toiled in the minor leagues, playing only briefly with the parent club. But Lampe's contract, which runs through 2008, calls for a buyout of $1.8 million Euros, or about $2 million dollars.