After weeks of speculation following their 2026 NBA Championship run, the word is finally in: Landry Shamet is returning to the New York Knicks.
As first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania, the veteran guard intends to re-up with the franchise on a new four-year, $24 million deal once signings can officially be made on July 6.
This news may come as a bit of a surprise to some when considering New York is already pressed up against the dreaded second apron threshold as currently constructed, and, by his own admission, owner James Dolan has no desire to enter into it for the 2026-27 campaign.
However, Shamet took a pay cut to make the numbers work for the Knicks' payroll, with SNY's NBA insider Ian Begley revealing he "turned down the opportunity for bigger offers from other contenders" to stay with the defending champs.
In many ways, this is the exact opposite of the situation that Knicks fans witnessed with Isaiah Hartenstein a few seasons back.
Knicks staved off Isaiah Hartenstein repeat with Landry Shamet signing
As a result of his tremendous 2023-24 campaign, one where he dropped averages of 8.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 49 starts with New York, Hartenstein unfortunately priced himself out of Leon Rose's spending range that very summer, which was capped at four years, $72.5 million.
Ultimately, he agreed to join on with the OKC Thunder on a three-year, $87 million deal.
This is by no means meant to be taken as a slight toward I-Hart. Players have every right to make as much money as they can throughout their careers, and the veteran center certainly earned every penny of that deal by leading Oklahoma City to their own title run during his first year with the club.
On top of this, reports suggest Hartenstein would have loved to remain with the Knicks had they been able to match the offer the Thunder shelled out.
Sadly, in the end, he wasn't willing to take the kind of discount necessary to remain in the Big Apple.
Shamet, on the other hand, seemed more than eager to do so, as Begley's report noted that simply allowing himself to enter free agency would have netted him a more lucrative deal than the $6 million AAV he has agreed to with the Knicks.
In many ways, the departure of Hartenstein set off the foundation for New York's historic championship. Hopefully, Shamet doing the opposite and opting for a pay cut can have similar effects as well.
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