Call it just another Knicks draft aftermath: What many believed was very good fortune may turn out to be a very bad headache.

It will take weeks to learn whether Maciej Lampe can wear a Knicks uniform in summer league, and months before the team knows whether he can stay permanently, because Real Madrid is likely to play hardball with his contractual rights.

The team put a positive spin on it yesterday at a Garden news conference, but this is the bottom line: If the Spanish League team doesn't come off its $1.8 million demand for Lampe's services, the Knicks are going to have to give him a huge share of their mid-level exception to make his new job financially worthwhile, because they are only allowed to pay $350,000 of any buyout.

And using that mid-level exception, of course, takes them out of the free-agent market.

Scott Layden, as usual, won't address it: "We'll be working on a lot of issues," he said. But Lampe's agent, who suspects subterfuge playing a role in his client's startling plummet during Thursday night's draft, sounds very nervous about it.

"Like any buyout negotiation, it becomes a hot topic after the draft," Keith Krieter said. "You are able to negotiate that number. My partner in Spain and I will be talking to them about being creative and trying to figure something out that's amicable."