Did New York let it slip Shamet is staying put in Manhattan?
The New York Knicks provided an update on guard Landry Shamet, who dislocated his right shoulder during Tuesday’s preseason win against the Charlotte Hornets.
Landry Shamet dislocated his right shoulder and will be re-evaluated at a later date.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) October 18, 2024
According to the team, Shamet will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks, which suggests the Knicks will keep him under contract for the start of the regular season so they could run another check on his status in a few weeks.
As James Edwards pointed out, the Knicks might or might not have let it slip that they are, in fact, signing Shamet because of how they worded their injury update.
Based on the wording here, sounds like the Knicks will take him into the season. Contract isn’t guaranteed until January. https://t.co/eXC56oyp1c
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) October 18, 2024
Initial reports from SNY’s Ian Begley also pointed toward “optimism” that Shamet may avoid surgery, which could allow him to return to action after a period of natural rehabilitation.
“If he can avoid surgery, the Knicks wouldn’t necessarily need to waive Shamet ahead of the regular season. They can keep him on the roster and let him rehab the injury. I’d expect them to do just that if the club concludes that Shamet can heal the injury through rehab.” — Ian Begley
Shamet is signed to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract, but he was a clear-cut candidate to sign a standard contract among players in E9/E10 deals carried by New York throughout the preseason.
Even after suffering his shoulder injury, even more after the latest update about the no-surgery-needed news, Shames remains a strong contender to make the Knicks’ regular-season roster.
His contract allows the Knicks to waive him with only a $15,000 payout, but given his expected role in the team’s rotation and the return on investment he can provide on a cheap deal, the Knicks appear inclined to keep him on the roster and let him recover through rehab, according to Begley.
With 12 players on guaranteed contracts exiting Friday’s loss at the Wizards, the Knicks have only a small amount of cap space available below the second apron and three roster spots open.
On top of Shamet, the Knicks are also expected to convert Ariel Hukporti’s two-way deal into a standard contract before the start of the season to add another big man to the rotation, even though he’s not expected to log big-time minutes for the most part.
By adding Shamet and Hukporti, the Knicks would fill 14 of their 15 roster spots for the regular season leaving one place open for another two-way player.