Landry Shamet signed with the Knicks in a non-guaranteed contract, but later Donte DiVincenzo was sent to Minnesota to make the Karl-Anthony Towns trade workShamet seemed destined for the Knicks roster. Then Shamet suffered a dislocated shoulder on a random preseason playan injury that could have a wide range of recovery times depending on whether there is ligament damage and if surgery is necessary.
On Saturday, the Knicks waived Landry Shamet (he was on an Exhibit 9 contract, meaning he will only receive $15,000 from New York).
Knicks waive Chuma Okeke, Landry Shamet and TJ Warren.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) October 19, 2024
This leaves the Knicks in a tight spot: They currently have 12 players on their roster and need to get that number up to 14 by early in the season (teams can be under 14 players on the roster for only 28 days over the course of the season and never for more than 14 consecutive days). However, under the new CBA the Knicks are tight on the second apron and are only $3.58 million below that line.
Which means they can’t afford to go out and get two veterans on minimum contracts to fill those two roster spots. Instead, they will likely sign one veteran minimum deal – the Celtics just waived Lonnie Walker IVhe is one possibility but there are many others such as Marcus Morris Sr. – and then promote one of their two-way players to a full-time contract (Ariel Hukporti is rumored to be the most likely).
Being so close to the hard cap, it will be a challenge for Leon Rose and the Knicks front office to maneuver during the season if necessary. However, all this stress is about moves at the back of the bench, the front of this bench should have the Knicks at title contenders this season.
