The New York Knicks knew they weren’t going to enter the second apron, even to keep a championship team fully together. Owner James Dolan made that clear. It made fans nervous because the Knicks had a bunch of key free agents this offseason, including Mitchell Robinson, Jose Alvarado, Jordan Clarkson, Mohamed Diawara, and Landry Shamet.
Robinson was the only one of those players who left, as New York brought back the others on what could be deemed “team-friendly” deals. Shamet played such a large role during last season’s championship run, will likely do again this season, and appears to be on one of the best value contracts in the NBA.
There are a boatload of players making more than Shamet
Early in free agency, it was announced that the Knicks were bringing back Shamet on a four-year, $24 million deal. It was a remarkable 2025–26 season for Shamet, who needed to win a training-camp battle over Garrison Mathews and the retired Malcolm Brogdon last year to secure a roster spot. The eight-year veteran ended up averaging 23.0 minutes per game in the regular season and 16.3 in the playoffs.
To show how much of a bargain Shamet’s contract is, he will make a little less than $5.5 million in 2026–27. As of now, that will make him just the 262nd-highest-paid player in the league next season.
That’s truly remarkable, given how important Shamet was to the Knicks during their championship season. Without question, Shamet was a better player than Gary Trent Jr. last year, yet the Milwaukee Bucks re-signed Trent to a four-year, $64 million deal—although many are curious about what Milwaukee was thinking by doing so.
Shamet was an absolute flamethrower in the Knicks’ four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals. Somehow, he connected on 91.7% of his 3-point attempts (11-for-12). His 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining in Game 1 tied the game and helped spark an incredible comeback victory in overtime.
Now, Shamet has a lot more security than he did entering last year. The Knicks are his sixth NBA club, and he no longer has to worry about bouncing from team to team. He has become a better defender over time, and he has always been a well-above-average outside shooter. And he gets himself open with movement off the ball.
There’s no doubt about it: Shamet is one of the best-value contracts in the league.
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