Landry Shamet won the biggest Knicks roster battle.
He earned the last roster spot, as the Knicks cut down on Saturday ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline.
The most notable of the cuts was Garrison Mathews, who was battling with Shamet for that last roster spot. It went from a three-player battle to a two-player battle when Malcolm Brogdon surprisingly retired on Wednesday. Brogdon was expected to make the roster and have a significant role as the team’s backup point guard behind Jalen Brunson, noti.group’s Stefan Bondy previously reported, but his sudden decision paved the way for Shamet to return for a second season with the Knicks.
Mathews did not play in Friday’s 113-108 win over the Hornets at Madison Square Garden in the preseason finale. Shamet played 20 minutes and finished with 11 points.
“It’s been a competitive camp and I’ll tell you what, everybody that we’ve had in here deserves to be on the team, so it’s gonna be tough for us,” coach Mike Brown said after Friday’s game. “But we’ll make the decision because we have to.”
The Knicks have not yet formally signed Mohamed Diawara, whom they drafted in the second round in June. He remains on his Exhibit-10 deal. The Knicks can carry 13 players for two weeks into the season before they have to reach the 14-player roster minimum.
Shamet, after missing the beginning of last year due to a shoulder injury, averaged 5.7 points on 39.7 percent shooting from 3-point range in 50 regular-season games last year. He also earned a larger role toward the end of the postseason last year.
Both he and Mathews are strong 3-point shooters, but Shamet’s defense and experience gave him the edge. Without Brogdon, there will be more onus on Miles McBride and Tyler Kolek to man the point guard spot when Brunson is on the bench since Shamet is much more of a shooting guard.
Beyond Mathews, the Knicks waived Alex Len and Matt Ryan. Tosan Evbuomwan, Kevin McCullar Jr. and Trey Jemison III will remain on their two-way contracts.
Diawara had been viewed more as a project with the option of being stashed when he was drafted, but he impressed during training camp and the preseason.
There is the possibility the Knicks still make an unexpected cut — Shamet or someone else — and start the season with 13 players before later re-signing that player. They have two weeks to do that, which would provide cap space if they want to sign somebody later on in the season.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
