Knicks Waive Landry Shamet amid Shoulder Injury; Updated NBA Salary Cap, Depth Chart

The New York Knicks waived Landry Shamet on Saturday, according to HoopsHype‘s Michael Scotto.

The Knicks also waived TJ Warren and Chuma Okeke, trimming their roster down to 12 players.

New York will “look to bring Shamet back once he recovers,” per ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Knicks face limits on how long they can play with fewer than 14 players on their regular-season roster, as noted by ESPN’s Bobby Marks:

Warren could also rejoin the Knicks roster this season, per SNY’s Ian Begley. Begley wrote that the Knicks decided to waive Warren in order to stay under the second apron with Shamet’s status “up in the air.”

The 27-year-old guard was set to play the 2024-25 season on a $2.6 million contract. The Knicks will owe him just $15,000 after waiving him, per Pete Botte of the New York Post.

The Knicks are currently slightly less than $3.6 million below the second luxury tax apron, per Marks.

Under league rules, the Knicks must remain under the second apron because the team aggregated salaries in order to acquire Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets in July.

Here’s a look at the projected Knicks depth chart with Shamet, Warren and Okeke off the roster.

PG: Jalen Brunson, Cameron Payne, Tyler Kolek

SG: Mikal Bridges, Miles McBride

SF: Josh Hart, Pacome Dadiet

PF: OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa

C: Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, Jericho Sims

The Knicks also have Jacob Toppin, Kevin McCullar Jr. and Ariel Hukporti on two-way contracts.

Converting Toppin, McCullar or Hukporti would cost the Knicks $1.15 million against the cap, while signing Shamet or Warren on a veteran minimum would cost the Knicks $2.1 million, as noted by Marks.

The Knicks could alternately sign a free agent like Marcus Morris to a veteran minimum deal.

That means the Knicks could use a two-way player and a veteran to fill out the roster, but could not add both Shamet and Warren, or either player and a free agent, without exceeding the second apron.

New York could choose to prioritize Shamet depending on his injury status, as Marks and Charania described him as a “sure thing to make the Knicks’ roster” prior to his injury.

The Knicks said when announcing Shamet’s injury on Friday that he would be “re-evaluated at a later date,” and head coach Tom Thibodeau indicated after the loss that he was still deciding about the possibility of undergoing surgery. Whether or not Shamet’s recovery necessitates surgery could shape the Knicks’ path to a 14-player roster.

The Knicks open the regular season on Tuesday with a road game against the defending champion Boston Celtics.