The New York Knicks were hopeful that guard Landry Shamet would carve out a nice role off of their bench to provide some additional scoring in a weak second unit. However, a dislocated shoulder suffered in the preseason derailed those plans, which resulted in the Knicks waiving him prior to the start of the regular season.
The Knicks are expected to bring back Landry Shamet
Although, Shamet will eventually be healthy enough to return to the court, and when that time comes, the Knicks are expected to bring him back to be a major contributor off the bench.
“Looking ahead, sharpshooter Landry Shamet is expected to be re-signed by the Knicks when he’s healthy, with the hope that stretch forward Matt Ryan will then clear waivers and re-sign on a two-way contract, league sources told HoopsHype,” Michael Scotto of HoopsHype wrote.
Shamet was initially signed to a non-guaranteed training camp deal at the beginning of the preseason and made a strong impression on the court in preseason action. He looked to be a lock to make the roster until he suffered the injury, but the Knicks do still have a use for him upon his return.
Shamet will give the Knicks much-needed bench depth
The Knicks’ bench has been heavily depleted as along with Shamet, Precious Achiuwa and Mitchell Robinson have yet to take the floor this season as they battle injuries of their own. Their bench unit has been a relatively thin one that consists of Miles McBride, Cameron Payne, and Jericho Sims.
As a result, bench production has been at an all-time low for New York. They rank dead last in points per game off the bench with just 21.2 despite the team overall being the league’s top offense.
Shamet’s return could help give guys like Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges some additional rest. Bridges currently leads the NBA in minutes per game with 37.9. Shamet will also provide them with another lights-out shooter from outside the arc. He is a career 38.4% shooter from three-point range.
It is still unclear when Shamet will be cleared to play again, but when he is, expect him to rejoin the Knicks and provide a spark off the bench.
