Can Landry Shamet contribute to the Knicks’ rotation?

The former Shocker looks to make his mark.

On September 14, Adrian Wojnarowski delivered one final sermon to his Madison Square Garden-based group of believers.

Landry Shamet would be brought into Knicks training camp on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal.

Of course, this was seen as a largely irrelevant move at the time. New York had a plethora of wings and shooters and was needed to address their center depth (or lack thereof). OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Miles McBride, and Donte DiVincenzo would all be playing upwards of 30 minutes a night. Shamet was a solid veteran who could provide a spark in training camp, and maybe earn his way onto the end of the bench with a strong performance.

Two weeks later, a certain somebody named Karl-Anthony Towns became a Knick. The Knicks shipped off our beloved DiVo in return. I wish I could say no hard feelings. Anywho, with the departure of the Big Ragu, the Knicks’ shooting guard rotation became particularly thin.

McBride became the second-string point guard and shooting guard, and after him, there was no clear favorite to assume minutes at either guard position. New York would have to include at least one more guard or wing in its rotation.

Enter Landry Shamet.

Shamet played his college ball for the Shockers at Wichita State, a la Knicks legend Ron Baker. In 2018, he was drafted in the late first round by the Philadelphia 76ers. He was traded at the deadline to the LA Clippers, where he did this in his first playoff action of his career.

Welcome to the league, kid.

Since then, Landry has bounced around the league from contender to contender, never truly finding a home. It was Philadelphia, then LA, then Brooklyn, then Phoenix. He was included as part of the Suns’ return package for Bradley Beal last year, where he spent time with the lowly Wizards, missing out on the playoffs for the first time in his career.

Ultimately, it was the Knicks who picked him up this offseason.

Shamet is a true 3-and-D guy. Across his 348 career NBA games, he’s averaged 8.7 points per game on 38.4% from long range. A bonafide sniper. He’s been a bench piece in five playoff rotations, spanning from 2018 to 2023. He’s an average defender at best, but his floor spacing and scoring abilities gave the Knicks a reason to take a chance on him.

The opportunity presented itself after the trade, and so far, Shamet has delivered.

In his first preseason action, Shamet posted 16 points off the bench on 4-of-8 shooting from downtown.

He followed it up with a poor shooting game against the Wizards, but turned it back on against Minnesota on Sunday evening, giving the Knicks 13.

The three guards receiving minutes off the bench have been rotational lock Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, and Cameron Payne, another well-traveled veteran. Tyler Kolek is also hovering around that same tier, but should expect to spend some time in Westchester before contributing to the parent organization.

Payne is on a guaranteed contract and has also been performing strongly in the preseason. But the two differ in playing style. Shamet is an off-ball microwave who can heat up in a flash; Payne is a change-of-pace ball handler who can dictate games with his shiftiness and playmaking ability. Thibs could opt to use both if need be.

The fact that we’re even having this conversation now is a massive win for Shamet, who was on the outside looking in at the beginning of training camp.

He’ll have two more chances to impress. First up is tonight, when Charlotte visits MSG. The team will travel on Friday to DC where they match up against the Wizards again. After that? The real deal, when the season tips off in Boston a week from tonight. We’ll find out soon if Shamet is still around then.