Knicks to bring back Landry Shamet, source says; what's next in free agency?
Knicks guard Landry Shamet after his overtime three-pointer during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
With the free agent market set to open at 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Knicks enter it more intent on holding their NBA champions squad together than heading on some high-cost spending spree.
But what they’d really like as they embark on this unfamiliar territory is trust.
Understandable and hard to argue with that as the front office put together a team that brought the franchise its first title in 53 years. But it’s still understandably hard for the fan base to, just days removed from the celebration, to face the possibility of saying goodbye to several key pieces of the rotation.
The Knicks solved one piece of the puzzle Monday when they came to terms on a four-year, $24 million deal to bring back Landry Shamet, who was an important part of the title run, according to a league source. But the deal also likely means that Mitchell Robinson will be departing unless he was willing to give a significant hometown discount to the Knicks.
The Knicks found themselves in a difficult situation with Robinson, Shamet and Jordan Clarkson all unrestricted free agents and Robinson and Shamet in line to command significant paydays, numbers that would push the Knicks above the second apron to keep them in orange and blue.
That possibility was publicly shot down even before the Knicks rode down the Canyon of Heroes when Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan told WFAN, “If we could bring back the whole team exactly as it is, why wouldn’t you? But I don’t know if we’re going to be able to. We’re willing to stretch, but there’s certain things in the NBA that you’d have to be suicidal to do and we’re not going to do those.
“One of them is the second apron. Cannot go into the second apron. But that’s up to Leon [Rose]. I’m just telling him how big of a check I can write. I’ll write as big of a check as possible, but I can’t write a check that goes into the second apron.”
The simple math would indicate that the Knicks will lose Robinson. The Knicks currently sit approximately $8 million available below the second apron and likely need that to secure the remainder of the roster (this includes the return of Jose Alvarado and Mo Diawara, giving them 11 players under contract before factoring in second-round picks).
Shamet’s return eases some of the tension and he certainly has a fan in coach Mike Brown, who said during the NBA Finals, “When I first got the job, I called Landry. I said, ‘Hey, I want you here. I’m sorry about the way the circumstances are contractually. I have nothing to do that. I believe you can help us on both ends of the floor.’ So for me, I was excited about him when he did finally sign, when he did decide to come.
“ . . . I talked about him to Leon specifically during my interview process. Trying to get him signed and locked up on this team as soon as possible is something that was really important to me.”
And it certainly is important to keep him now after Shamet played a key role as a 3-and-D guard — including an NBA record for a postseason series, 11-for-12 from three against Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Robinson, who made $12.9 million last season on the last year of a four-year, $60 million deal, is an intriguing situation both for his value to the team as the longest-tenured Knicks player and for the market he will command. Some potential landing spots have been blocked by the salary cap troubles of the teams, including the Lakers, after DeAndre Ayton accepted opted into his $8.1 million player option Monday.
Sacramento is a possibility, but would have to waive DeMar DeRozan to make room for him under the second apron.One team with the space and the possibility of offering him a starting job could be the Nets, who dealt away Nic Claxton in the deal that brought them Julius Randle. But they did bring back Day’Ron Sharpe on a two-year, $20 million deal.
Asked by WGNO television at his camp back home in Louisiana if he hoped to be back, Robinson said, “We’ll see what happens. It would be great to try to do it, run it back again, try to go back-to-back, defending champs. That’s very [much] a possibility.”
But it would seem to be a diminishing possibility with Robinson eight years into his career and facing the opportunity for what would likely be his last big payday.
Clarkson is a unique case. He cost the Knicks just $2.3 million last season after he negotiated a buyout with Utah on the final year of a two-year, $28 million deal.
If now, at 34 years old, he would take a veteran minimum deal, he could return to provide a bench spark as he did this season.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
