Knicks bolster roster by bringing back healthy Landry Shamet

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was bullish on Landry Shamet’s potential heading into this season.

Shamet, who was on an Exhibit 9 contract during training camp, seemed like a near-lock for a roster spot before suffering a dislocated right shoulder in the Knicks’ penultimate preseason game. The team’s rotation plans took a hit and Shamet was waived three days before the regular season started.

Just over two months later, after a brief stint with the Westchester Knicks, the 27-year-old guard has returned.

The Knicks, who hosted the Raptors on Monday night, agreed to terms to bring back the 6-4 Shamet on Sunday evening. They announced the move Monday morning.

“Just good, solid veteran leadership,” Thibodeau said before Monday’s game about what Shamet brings to the team. “Plays multiple positions. We thought he had a great training camp. Unfortunately, he got hurt in that last game.”

Shamet, who was with the Nets in 2020, is on his sixth team in seven seasons.

He has averaged 8.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in his career, playing 348 games with 97 starts. He is a career 38.4% three-point shooter on 4.9 attempts per game.

“He’s been around,” Thibodeau said. “He’s played in big games. He knows how to play off people extremely well. The three-point shooting, he can handle the ball, play off the ball. The versatility with Cam [Payne] and the twos, I think they fit well together. And he plays fast, and I think that helps.”

Selected by the 76ers in the first round (26th overall) of the 2018 NBA Draft, Shamet played last season for the Wizards. In 46 games with Washington, he averaged 7.1 points and shot 33.8% from three-point range.

Shamet initially signed with the Knicks on Sept. 14. He appeared in the team’s first four preseason games, averaging 10.8 points in 22 minutes and shooting 35.7% from the field and 30.0% from outside the arc.

In addition to the chemistry he formed with the team in the preseason, Shamet played with Knicks starter Mikal Bridges and Payne with the Phoenix Suns from 2021-23.

“Yeah, I think that’s a big thing,” Thibodeau said. “I think that Cam and Mikal, along with Landry, they were part of a Phoenix team that went deep in the playoffs. I think that’s a plus as well.”

Though the Knicks waived Shamet after the injury, they kept a close eye on him. One week after they parted with the Kansas City native and Wichita State product, the Westchester Knicks selected Shamet with the second pick in the G League Draft.

He worked his way back to play three games with the G League squad and showed enough to earn the call from the NBA club.

Thibodeau was not worried about Shamet needing to ramp up.

“That was more just to see, like, where he was in terms of getting him some games,” Thibodeau said. “Being in games is a lot different than practicing. So just getting that to make sure everything was good, to see how he felt the next day. So that was good. It was part of the rehab.”

Thibodeau noted that he “could” expand the rotation with Shamet in the picture. “We’re going to see how it unfolds,’’ he said. “He just got here today.”

Notes & quotes: Former Knick RJ Barrett (illness) was in the Raptors’ starting lineup after missing the previous two games. “He’s learning a lot,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “I think he already had, like, two or three games with triple-doubles this year. He’s improving. He’s rebounding. Like, there is obvious growth there as well. Now it’s for him and everybody else to start putting all of those things together.” . . . The Westchester Knicks won their second straight NBA G League Winter Showcase in Orlando on Sunday night. Rookie Tyler Kolek was named MVP after contributing 22 points and 11 assists in the championship game.

By Ben Dickson

benjamin.dickson@newsday.com@bendickson__

Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.