Youth Springs Eternal

On a night when the rookies popped, a potential rotation player may be lost for a while.

Good morning! The Knicks had themselves an eventful evening while most of New York was watching the Yankees. Unfortunately, while most of it was good, we do have to lead off on a down note…

News & Notes

🏀 With just under four minutes remaining in last night’s game, reserve guard Landry Shamet made a play for the ball on a driving Moussa Diabate and injured his shoulder in the process. After laying on the floor in obvious pain for a few moments, he was quickly helped to the locker room. From the look of it, Shamet’s shoulder appeared to be dislocated, although there’s no indication yet of how serious the injury is. Thibs didn’t have more information for reporters afterwards.

It’s a potentially crushing blow for Shamet, who looked poised not only to grab a roster spot, but a place in the rotation as well. Now both of those possibilities are in doubt.

Because Shamet’s contract is a non-guaranteed camp deal, the Knicks can waive him and suffer no significant financial penalty. They would also be able to sign another player with real NBA experience using that contract slot and still stay below the second apron, as they are required to do this season.

Alternatively, they could keep Shamet on the roster for the time being and see how his recovery goes. His contract does not fully guarantee until January, so they have some flexibility in terms of timing. The bigger issue is that they may need the player occupying that roster spot to step into the rotation immediately.

Right now, the first eight spots in the rotation are set with the five starters, Deuce McBride, Precious Achiuwa and Cameron Payne. It’s possible Tom Thibodeau could go with an eight-man rotation, but this is highly uncharacteristic for the regular season, even for him. You could make an argument that just about any other player on a guaranteed deal should get the ninth spot, whether it be Jericho Sims or one of the three rookies, although the one with the best chance may be a guy who just 24 hours ago was probably expecting to get waived.

TJ Warren, like Shamet, was picked up on a camp deal, albeit later in the offseason. He played 19 minutes last night - by far his longest action of the preseason - and looked rusty but effective in spots.

He could stand to benefit the most from this injury if they waive Shamet’s non-guaranteed deal and ink Warren to a similar pact that also doesn’t fully guarantee until later in the year. At 6'8" with a proven knack for scoring, if he can even vaguely resemble the player he was before a foot issue derailed his career, he could be the pick.

But one step at a time. Hopefully, Shamet’s injury isn’t nearly as bad as it looked, and this is much ado about nothing. For now, we’ll have to wait and see.

Game Recap: Knicks 111, Hornets 105

• The Knicks rested every starter and began the game with the five primary reserves

• The Hornets played LaMelo Ball 26 minutes and he was a team-low minus-16

• All three rookies shined, as did Precious Achiuwa and Cam Payne

• The Knicks went on two separate 15-0 runs, one in each half, largely against Charlotte starters and regular rotation players

• The ball movement was notably impressive

For as much of a downer as the Landry Shamet injury is, and for as much as it raises an additional unwanted question mark less than a week out from the start of the regular season, it was hard to come away from last night with anything but positive vibes.