Knicks Mailbag: What are expectations for Landry Shamet off the bench?

SNY's Ian Begley will be responding to Knicks questions from readers. Here's the latest...

Hi Ian! Now that Landry Shamet is back, how many minutes is he expected to get off the bench? In the past, Thibs in interviews has talked very highly of Landry. Maybe he runs Payne-McBride-Shamet together off the bench? - @LetsTalkKnicks_

I think Shamet will play much more than he did in his first game back with the Knicks. Shamet played one minute of the Knicks’ 139-125 win over Toronto on Monday night. Based on conversations with people in touch with the team, I’d expect Shamet to get ample opportunity to earn rotation minutes.

Shamet was sidelined for 10 weeks with a right shoulder dislocation.

The injury occurred late in the preseason. The Knicks waived Shamet before the start of the regular season. But many stakeholders in the organization hoped at the time to be able to bring him back.

That’s why I think Shamet will have the chance to earn rotation minutes with this club.

Here’s what Tom Thibodeau said on Monday when asked why the Knicks were impressed by Shamet in the preseason.

“He's played in big games. He knows how to play off people extremely well,” the coach said. “The three-point shooting, he can handle the ball, play off the ball, the versatility with Cam (Payne) and Deuce (Miles McBride). I think they fit well together. He plays fast. I think that helps.”

The Knicks have one of the lowest scoring benches in the NBA. They’ve established the third best record in the East with that bench. In a perfect world, Shamet can improve their bench scoring and take some of the work load off of the wings/guards playing ahead of him.

Thanks as always for doing this Ian! Reports have indicated teams apparently have trade interest in Jericho Sims. Where do the Knicks stand at this point regarding moving on from him? - @TheKnicksRecap

Appreciate you, @TheKnicksRecap! When it comes to personnel decisions, the Knicks have several influential voices. So I'd be lying if I said that I knew what each Knick decision-maker thinks about Sims at the moment. But I know teams had conversations with the Knicks about Sims in the offseason. Some of those teams said New York sought at least two second round picks in any Sims conversation.

Based on that, I assume Sims would be available for the right return. But you can probably say that about any Knick not named Brunson.

In my opinion the Knicks need a wing. Is there any chance Chuma Okeke or TJ Warren come up to the main roster? - @AnyTimeKnicks

The Knicks can add a 15th player in early March, when the player’s pro-rated salary can fit under the $189.9 million team salary threshold known as the second apron. The Knicks are capped at the second apron due to the Mikal Bridges trade.

Happy Holidays @IanBegley. Looking ahead here - do you believe Money Mitch is on the Knicks after the trade deadline? - @RobertWCross

This is a major question for the Knicks as they approach the trade deadline. If I had to guess, I’d guess that Mitchell Robinson makes it all the way back in his rehab to the point where New York feels confident about his ability to stay healthy.

But Robinson still has several hurdles to clear before he gets to that point. If the Knicks still aren’t sure about Robinson’s status in mid January, I assume they would look seriously at center help in the trade market.

Bondy made a comment on Donte returning in the future. What would a trade for Donte look like and when would you expect it to happen? This season? Next season? - @TMontana4810

They can’t trade for Divincenzo this season. If you trade a player, you can’t reacquire him within the same NBA calendar year. So the Knicks would need to wait until the offseason to trade for DiVincenzo. Obviously, Minnesota would also have to be willing to trade DiVincenzo. He has gotten off to a slow start but the Timberwolves are committed to DiVincenzo’s success in Minnesota, as The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski said on The Putback last week.

I don’t know what Minnesota would be asking for in this hypothetical DiVincenzo trade but it’s worth noting the Knicks can’t take back more money than they send out in trades. As a team capped at the second apron, they have to match salary dollar for dollar in trades.

If I’m guessing, I’d say DiVincenzo plays well for the Timberwolves for the rest of the season and Minnesota starts to win some games. But the team’s film session the day after the Knicks game, as noted in the video version of this Mailbag, suggests that the club is going through a bit of a rough stretch.

Any chance the Knicks trade for a defensive guy like Herb Jones?- @BigFrank1979

Discussed this in a bit more detail in the video version of the Mailbag, Big Frank. But I can’t see it. I don’t think the Knicks have the assets to meet New Orleans’ asking price on Jones in this hypothetical scenario.

We need a reliable bench scorer/3rd scorer - will this come via trade, existing player on roster or buy out player acquisition? - @circleoftowers

I think Shamet has a chance to fill a scoring role off of the bench. If that doesn’t work out, the Knicks have enough tradeable salary to acquire an impactful bench player via trade. They also can sign a veteran free agent in March. So all avenues are open. But, as noted above, I think Shamet will have ample chance to earn a rotation spot.