Landry Shamet finds himself in a place that most wouldn’t have expected to start the season.
Healthy again after missing a few games with a knee issue, he is pretty much a lock to be in the Knicks playoff rotation.
“I don’t take these moments for granted, man,” Shamet said after practice Sunday. “This thing’s delicate, I know that. It’s a special team, special market, special opportunity and just to wear the jersey even. I’m grateful and happy to be a part of this group and have Mike’s [Brown] trust and my teammates’ trust. I trust in them as well. Super grateful for it.”
He hardly had a role under Tom Thibodeau last year.
And before the year, having signed just a nonguaranteed, veteran minimum contract, he was one of the last players to make Brown’s roster — and likely only did so due to Malcolm Brogdon’s sudden retirement.
Then after 15 promising games to start the year, he dislocated his shoulder — the same one he dislocated last year. The Knicks, given Shamet’s deal wasn’t guaranteed, could have cut him and looked to get help elsewhere.
But they afforded Shamet time to rehab. And it’s paid tremendous dividends. He has emerged as a key shooter off the bench, averaging 9.6 points per game — which would be a career high for a full season — and shooting 39.4 percent from 3-point range. He has also been one of the team’s best point-of-attack defenders.
There is certainly a case to be made that the Knicks have gotten more out of Shamet than any player on a minimum deal in the league.
One area in which he’s contributed, though, has gone under the radar — his ability to be a backup point guard. Brown has praised Shamet’s ability to handle that role, despite him being much more of a shooting guard most of his NBA career. Though neither are naturals at the position, Brown feels comfortable with both Shamet and Miles McBride there.
And now with both healthy, that doesn’t leave much room for Jose Alvarado in the rotation.
“He’s a good enough ball handler, he has a good enough feel/IQ to initiate the offense,” Brown said of Shamet on Sunday. “And then conceptually, because of his feel and the other guys’ feel, we’re able to generate some things offensively. We’re not relying on him to be a traditional point guard. He and Deuce [McBride] are more than capable of doing the things that we’re asking in terms of initiating the offense. And then at the end of the day, can they play pick-and-roll, can they play the [dribble handoff] game, get downhill and spray the ball or throw the lob to a guy like Mitch [Robinson]? I think he can.”
Shamet fills multiple vital roles for the Knicks. There was a time it didn’t seem like he’d even have any.
