The Knicks rested their starters on Tuesday but couldn’t avoid an unfortunate preseason injury.
Landry Shamet suffered a serious right shoulder injury in the third quarter of New York’s preseason win over Charlotte.
He hurt his shoulder while defending Moussa Diabate on a drive. The 27-year-old appeared to be in significant pain after the injury. He went straight to the Knick locker room with a trainer.
Entering Tuesday night, Shamet had a very strong chance to make the Knicks’ regular season roster. New York needed a player with his perimeter shooting, particularly after trading Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota in the Karl-Anthony Towns deal.
Tom Thibodeau has praised Shamet for his preseason work and performance. If healthy, he’d likely be in the Knicks’ regular season rotation.
That makes this shoulder injury significant for New York. What would Shamet’s long-term absence mean for the Knicks?
The 27-year-old is signed to an Exhibit 9 contract. So if his injury is significant, the Knicks could waive him and incur a $15,000 cap hit. The club could then have room under the second apron to add another player on a veteran minimum and convert a two-way player to a standard contract.
Barring injury, big man Ariel Hukporti is likely to be converted. If the Knicks convert Hukporti, they would have 13 players on traditional deals. Shamet would be the 14th player.
So if Shamet is out long-term, New York would likely look to sign another veteran player for that 14th spot. Before Shamet’s injury, there was some internal support for adding Marcus Morris Sr., per people familiar with the matter.
New York signed Morris Sr. to an Exhibit 10 deal prior to training camp. They had to waive Morris Sr. to execute the Towns trade. Morris Sr. then declined a training camp invite from the Knicks.
Even after he declined the camp offer, some with the club viewed Morris Sr. as a strong depth piece and a potential in-season addition.
If Shamet is out for an extended period, the Knicks could also choose to keep veteran TJ Warren if they can sign him and stay under the second apron. Chuma Okeke would be an option as well.
None of these players would be a perfect replacement for Shamet’s shooting, though. That’s one factor that makes Shamet’s injury so costly for New York. He was going to fill a distinct need and play a significant role off of the bench.
Depending on the severity of Shamet’s shoulder injury, New York could decide to keep him on the regular-season roster while he rehabs. Doing so would obviously leave the club short-handed off of the bench.
The biggest factor in adding any player to the roster is the second apron, which is $188.9 million in team salary. The Knicks’ team salary cannot exceed the second apron this season; they became hard-capped at the second apron following the Mikal Bridges trade.
If the Knicks had kept Shamet on the roster and converted Hukporti, they would be roughly $300,000 below the second apron, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan.