Here in his second season with the New York Knicks, Landry Shamet finds himself putting forth statistical-highs virtually all across the board.
Through 38 games played, the veteran wing is posting impressive averages of 10.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and a blistering 41.2 percent from deep.
Behind his highly efficient floor spacing and defensive abilities, Shamet has established himself not only as one of New York's most impactful role players but also, with his contract accounting for only 1.48 percent of the cap, one of the best bargain players in the entire association.
And while this is certainly cause for excitement for the Knicks and their fanbase here in 2025-26, the sad truth is his career-best campaign could price him directly out of the Big Apple this coming summer.
Landry Shamet playing his way out of Knicks' price-range this summer
Just before the start of this season, Shamet agreed to terms on a new one-year pact with the Knicks, paying him just $2.29 million.
Considering he was coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, one in which he averaged all-time lows in points (5.7) and minutes (15.2) while registering his worst PER (9.7) since the 2019-20 campaign, at the time, such a price-point seemed at best fair and, arguably, a bit of an overpay for what the team believed they needed to round out their rotation.
Fast forward roughly six months since the ink dried on his new deal, and the narrative has completely flipped from an afterthought agreement to a straight-up bargain for the Knicks.
Unfortunately, this only means Shamet's next payday will be much more lucrative, which, given New York is already a second-apron team for the 2026-27 season as is, likely means he'll be on his way out of town during this summer's free agency period.
Luckily, the Knicks seem to have a possible cheaper, long-term replacement option for his services developing right before their very eyes in Mohamed Diawara.
Not only is the forward quietly becoming one of the biggest steals from this past draft, but he's already been taken under Shamet's wing as he continues to learn the ropes during his early stages as an NBA player.
Still, even with this backup plan already in place, it doesn't make the concept of being forced to lose Shamet due to their own financial restraints any easier to stomach.
Alas, that is almost certainly what the outcome will be as a result of his career-best season.