Logo

The Knicks have set up a wing battle for a roster spot.

Landry Shamet and Garrison Mathews, a pair of sharpshooting two-guards, agreed Thursday to one-year, non-guaranteed deals with the Knicks, sources told The Post.

Shamet’s return was rumored for months after he finished last season in the Knicks’ playoff rotation, having recovered admirably from a separated shoulder sustained almost a year ago in preseason.

He stuck around the New York area and had been working as an unpaid freelance photographer at the U.S. Open.

Mathews’ signing, which was first reported by The Post and confirmed by his agent, Dave Bauman, occurred after he weighed at least one other option and landed on the training camp competition against Shamet.

Mathews, 28, who played most of the past three seasons with the Hawks, has shot 38.2 percent from beyond the arc for his career, his greatest asset.

He logged his heaviest minutes with the Rockets in 2021-22, when he averaged 10 points in 26 minutes over 65 games — including 33 starts.


  The Knicks are re-signing Landry Shamet on a one-year contract. Robert Sabo for NY Post The Knicks are re-signing Landry Shamet on a one-year contract. Robert Sabo for NY Post

Shamet, also 28, averaged 5.7 points in 50 games last season with the Knicks.

He’s close with wing Mikal Bridges, who recently inked a $150 million extension to stay in New York.

Assuming the Knicks sign either Shamet or Mathews to a guaranteed deal after training camp, they’d still have two open roster spots, but the salary-cap space to sign just one player with zero years of NBA experience (Mohamed Diawara, for instance).

Despite this tight cap situation, league sources said the Knicks are still looking at backup veteran point guards for training camp. Malcolm Brogdon, most notably, remains on the market.

To make space for such a player, the Knicks theoretically would have to make a trade — though the team’s cap expert, Brock Aller, has a history of creatively navigating the CBA.

As it stands, the Knicks have 12 players on guaranteed deals — they can hold as many as 15 — with three two-way spots also up for grabs.

They’ll hold Media Day on Sept. 23, which is followed by a minicamp at the practice facility in Tarrytown. Then the Knicks travel to Abu Dhabi for a pair of preseason games against the 76ers on Oct. 2 and 4.

Before agreeing to sign Shamet and Mathews, the Knicks expressed interest in polarizing point guard Ben Simmons. However, Simmons was juggling the idea of signing with an NBA team and not playing next season, as The Post reported.


  Ben Simmons NBAE via Getty Images Ben Simmons NBAE via Getty Images

The Knicks have also locked in a coaching staff after hiring Mike Brown, with Chris Jent, Brendan O’Connor and Rick Brunson expected to sit on the front bench.

Darren Erman is returning on the staff but is expected to move to the back bench, sources said.

They also agreed to hire a head of player development, Billy Lange, who was the head coach of St. Joseph’s University but left for the Knicks position.

Lange was a top assistant for the Sixers during the “Process” era, with a source saying he worked a lot with Robert Covington, Jerami Grant, Jahlil Okafor and Michael Carter-Williams.

Lange was previously an assistant at Villanova and grew close with point guard Kyle Lowry.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy