Knicks weighing options in wake of Landry Shamet’s shoulder injury

Will the Knicks cut Shamet or wait for him?

The New York Knicks decided to run a full reserve-filled roster on Tuesday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets… and it kind of worked.

The Knicks beat the Hornets 111-105 in their penultimate preseason game before facing the Washington Wizards on Friday in D.C. That’s a massive win and many of New York’s reserves proved to be capable of taking on second-unit duties come regular-season time.

Now, the bad news: super-sub Landry Shamet couldn’t finish Tuesday’s game with a shoulder injury, dropping to the hardwood in pain after going for a steal in the third quarter.

The Knicks have not issued any update on Shamet’s status at the time of this writing on Wednesday morning, but the consensus opinion is that the veteran guard will have to miss at least some time and games to start the season.

Shamet is coming off a year where he averaged 7.1 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He shot 43.1% from the field and 33.8% from the three-point range with the Washington Wizards in 46 regular-season games.

He was playing under a non-contract Exhibit 9 with the Knicks this preseason, and if the injury carries a longer-than-expected recovery timeline there is a chance New York moves on from him and leaves him off the regular-season roster.

The Athletic’s Fred Katz reported that Shamet “has only $15,000 of injury protection” on his one-year, $2,613,120 contract. The Knicks would only need to pay him the former figure if they cut Shamet before the season.

In an article posted after Tuesday’s game, Ian Begley of SNY touched on possible alternatives and replacements for Shamet if he’s indeed left off the Knicks roster before the season opener next Monday.

Begley believes rookie big man Ariel Hukporti is the most likely player to see his two-way contract converted into a standard one.

“Barring injury, big man Ariel Hukporti is likely to be converted. If the Knicks convert Hukporti, they would have 13 players on traditional deals.” — Ian Begley

The insider also explains that if the Knicks cut Shamet at the price of $15K, they would still “have room under the second apron to add another player on a veteran minimum,” on top of converting Hukporti or any other player under a two-way contract already in tow.

The options available in the free-agent market, however, are… let’s say not quite great.

Begley points out the availability of former Knickerbocker Marcus Morris Sr., who spent time with New York before getting cut and turning down the possibility of returning to the organization following the Karl-Anthony Towns trade.

“Before Shamet’s injury, there was some internal support for adding Marcus Morris Sr., per people familiar with the matter.

“New York signed Morris Sr. to an Exhibit 10 deal prior to training camp. They had to waive Morris Sr. to execute the Towns trade. Morris Sr. then declined a training camp invite from the Knicks.

“Even after he declined the camp offer, some with the club viewed Morris Sr. as a strong depth piece and a potential in-season addition.” — Ian Begley

Another option is already in New York: TJ Warren. The veteran signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Knicks earlier this month and he’s appeared in a couple of preseason games scoring 15 total points in 23 minutes of play.

Begley also mentioned Chuma Okeke, who signed his own Exhibit 10 deal with the Knicks at the start of October.

At the end of the day, the Knicks 1) won’t find anyone as valuable as Shamet on the free-agent market this close to the regular season, and 2) will have to thread carefully because of the financial implications any move could present.

“The biggest factor in adding any player to the roster is the second apron, which is $188.9 million in team salary.

“The Knicks’ team salary cannot exceed the second apron this season; they became hard-capped at the second apron following the Mikal Bridges trade.

“If the Knicks had kept Shamet on the roster and converted Hukporti, they would be roughly $300,000 below the second apron, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan.” — Ian Begley

Here are a few of the available players according to Hoops Wire’s list of free agents, updated on Oct. 15. Pick your poison.

Centers: Ibou Badji, Bismack Biyombo, Marques Bolden, Moses Brown, Robin Lopez, JaVale McGee, Nathan Mensah, Olivier Sarr, Malik Williams

Power Forwards: Darius Bazley, Greg Brown, Robert Covington, Jae Crowder, Mamadi Diakite, Danilo Gallinari, Marcus Morris, Thaddeus Young

Small Forwards: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Davis Bertans, Leaky Black, Buddy Boeheim, Oshae Brissett, Troy Brown, Reggie Bullock, Henri Drell, Alex Fudge, Justin Holiday, Danuel House, Isaiah Livers, Wesley Matthews, Doug McDermott, Matt Ryan, Juan Toscano-Anderson

Shooting Guards: Adonis Arms, Jordan Bowden, Izaiah Brockington, Armoni Brooks, Javon Freeman-Liberty, Andrew Funk, Jaylen Nowell, Victor Oladipo, Joshua Primo, Isaiah Wong

Point Guards: Ryan Arcidiacono, Jamaree Bouyea, Sharife Cooper, Markelle Fultz, Jacob Gilyard, Kira Lewis, Dennis Smith Jr., Isaiah Thomas, John Wall​.