In a pre-playoff speech to the New York Knicks that quickly became viral, team governor James Dolan asked his players to give him 10 weeks of commitment to their "singular pursuit" of an NBA Championship.
While certain parts of the governor's speech took the internet by storm for more salacious reasons, one of Dolan's pleas to his team involved a promise to his players — and their significant others — that he'd pay for the Knicks' wives and girlfriends to get rings of their own in the event of a championship.
After New York ended their 53-year title drought, Landry Shamet, Kevin McCullar Jr., and Karl-Anthony Towns seem to have taken Dolan up on his claim. The pair of wings got engaged this offseason, and the All-Star big man officially married his fiancée Jordyn Woods. While it's unknown whether or not Dolan financed any purchases of any wedding bands, every Knick definitely got a nice cut of the NBA's annual championship bonus.
Shamet's new deal proves Knicks are finally benefiting from NYC location
The three most important things in real estate are infamously location, location, and location. Shamet, in particular, is a great example of the Knicks finally being good enough to leverage theirs.
The sharpshooting veteran lived in New York City before even signing with the team in 2024, and his friendship with both Mikal Bridges and Cam Payne from their time on the Phoenix Suns made him a great fit. And when Mike Brown got tasked with taking the team to the next level, he quickly identified Shamet as someone that he felt would be part of the solution.
Shamet's performance throughout the 2025-26 season was no surprise to those who paid close attention at the end of the team's previous playoff run, when Tom Thibodeau turned to the veteran in need of both change and fresh legs. Brown plugged Shamet in from day one, going as far as to "joke" that he'd cover the wing's salary himself if it kept him around, and the rest was history.
The hope of front offices, when they first acquire a player, is ironically to ultimately be priced out of extending that player at the same rate. It's the natural result of the first deal going so well that anything other than a raise for that player would be unimaginable. That didn't wind up being a problem for Shamet and the Knicks.
While New York was unable to keep Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti from their championship-winning roster, they were able to offer new contracts to just about everyone else. Shamet agreeing to take around $6 million per year, with a mix of player and team flexibility in the contract's later years, made the second apron a non-issue.
Knicks' championship allure helped keep most title-winners together
The Knicks ducked the spending limit while also finding room for Jose Alvarado, Mohamed Diawara, and Jordan Clarkson. They also added Andre Drummond to replace Robinson. Shamet could likely have gotten more money from several other teams, with scribes such as SNY's Ian Begley reporting as much in the wake of his new contract being announced.
He chose, however, to stay in New York. The earning potential with regard to off-court sponsorships — such as the one that landed Shamet on a Nike billboard outside of Madison Square Garden during the 2026 postseason — combined with the salary the Knicks could offer him, and the allure of fighting to run it back, were clearly enough to keep him in town.
It took a while for the Knicks to get rid of the proverbial stink surrounding their years of organizational incompetence. Dolan eventually found Leon Rose and William Wesley's front office, though, to get the job done. Now, they're all finally reaping some of the benefits of their big-market location and seeing it translate to the court.
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