The New York Knicks have been without shooting guard Landry Shamet for multiple weeks as he nurses a shoulder injury. Could they pull the rug on their veteran marksman and trade him away before he ever plays another game for the Knicks?
The New York Knicks are positioned well in the Eastern Conference. They are 17-7, good for second in the East behind only the Detroit Pistons, and they have the 4th-best net rating in the entire NBA. Their offense is a cool third overall, and their defense a respectable 11th, even though Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns play significant minutes.
That hardly means that the Knicks can afford to be complacent, however. This is a franchise that doesn't just want to return to the Eastern Conference Finals. They fired Tom Thibodeau and hired Mike Brown to lead them all the way to a championship, the first for the Knicks in 50 years.
That makes them a strong candidate to make an in-season trade to bolster their roster ahead of a playoff run. That could mean a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who would like to play in New York. It could also mean a smaller move to upgrade the team in another area, such as at backup point guard.
Landry Shamet could be traded
If and when the Knicks put together a trade, Landry Shamet's name is sure to be involved in the discussions -- and there is a solid chance he ends up part of the trade package. While Shamet brings a movement shooting skill to the roster that they don't necessarily have anywhere else, he is also a defensive liability and doesn't bring much else to the table in terms of the floor game (i.e. rebounding, passing, etc).
To be fair, Shamet is doing what is asked of him very well -- he is hitting 42.4 percent of his 4.4 3-point attempts per game, which translates out to 7.6 attempts per-36 minutes. He isn't shooting at an elite rate, but a solid one, and he is making the shots that he does take.
With few expendable contracts on the roster, the Knicks could use Shamet as matching salary in a deal. That includes both a 1-for-1 swap if the Knicks find a minimum player on the market to target; a salary dump to save some cash and apron space to add a buyout candidate; or even using his salary to add to a deal to get things over the line.
The Knicks will have to trade a core player if they go after a star, but if they are purely looking for a rotational upgrade, Shamet could be the vessel to accomplish that. And the first day that he is eligible to be traded is Monday, December 15th.
On that day, all players who signed with a new team in free agency this past offseason will be eligible to be traded. That means not only Shamet, but Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele will be trade eligible as well.
If the Knicks have been lining up a deal, Monday can be the day for them to pull the trigger. If that involves Shamet, he could be gone within the week. Given that he remains at least a week or more out from returning from innjury, the chances of him playing another game in a Knicks uniform go down once he is eligible to be traded.
It is far from a guarantee that Shamet will be dealt; the Knicks could go with another player. Yet when you have the chance to move someone who is not critical to your roster identity or success -- a description that fits Shamet -- you tend to do that before trading someone core to what you are doing.
Shamet could be traded as early as Monday, and that could mean the Knicks and their fans don't even get to see him suit up one last time for the team. The end could have already come.