Knicks sign veteran shooter to last roster spot in surprise move | Sporting News

The New York Knicks made a late-offseason free agency move to fill out their 15 guaranteed roster spots.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks signed veteran guard Landry Shamet to a one-year deal.

The 27-year-old Shamet has career averages of 8.7 points per game and is a career 38% shooter from three. He has played for five teams in six years.

There were rumors earlier in the summer that the Knicks were interested in adding Shamet, though nothing came to fruition. The Knicks were also reportedly interested in Davis Bertans, showing that the team was indeed searching for more shooting to add to the roster.

Shamet has been a solid rotation piece at nearly every stop, though the fact that he hasn’t been able to land anywhere long-term suggests that his impact hasn’t been as great as his shooting would suggest.

The move comes as a surprise for a few reasons. First, the Knicks center depth is the primary concern with the roster. It seemed that the Knicks would potentially consider looking for a veteran free agent as backup depth for the position.

It also seemed as though the Knicks were going to enter the season with an open guaranteed roster spot to give them more flexibility. An open roster spot could allow them to take in another player in a trade, or given them the flexibility to add a free agent if they felt their roster was missing a certain type of player.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Knicks do have two open roster spots for non-guaranteed deals.

With backup guards in Miles McBride, Donte DiVincenzo, Cameron Payne, and even rookie point guard Tyler Kolek already on the roster, Shamet likely won’t begin the season in the rotation. However, should one of the Knicks guards get injured, or Kolek prove not ready for NBA minutes, Shamet could be nice emergency depth for the Knicks.