CHARLOTTE — After Landry Shamet’s shoulder visibly dislodged from its socket four days prior, the official medical update Wednesday was certainly more encouraging than it could have been.
Shamet was diagnosed with a sprained shoulder and will be reevaluated in about four weeks, league sources confirmed, with the shooting guard already starting rehab. A source said the injury wasn’t as bad as Shamet’s dislocation from last year, and there’s optimism he could again return without surgery.
And while Shamet’s contract is not guaranteed — leaving open the possibility of him getting waived amid a lengthy recovery — coach Mike Brown made it clear he wants his key player back.
New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet (44) reacts to an injury against the Orlando Magic. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
“That’s something that [Leon Rose and the front office] will discuss. But Landry is a really big part of what we’re doing,” Brown said, “and I’ll give up my salary for him.”
Obviously, that’s not how it works, but it’s important to remember Shamet has a big fan in the top coaching seat.
Nonetheless, the recovery timeline presents a conundrum.
The Knicks relied heavily on Shamet through the first month of the season, with Brown deploying faith and minutes in the 28-year-old shooting guard.
Shamet was rewarding Brown with production and might have been in the beginning of a career resurgence when he collided Saturday with Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr., sending Shamet to the locker room in a sprint while holding his shoulder.
It was the same right shoulder Shamet dislocated before last season, leaving it more susceptible to popping out without surgery. The recovery timeline provided by league sources suggests a partial subluxation of the shoulder, meaning a temporary, partial dislocation that can be popped back in.
Still, the only diagnosis provided by Brown was “sprain.”
“Anytime you can avoid surgery, at least from my novice experience, I think it’s great,” Brown said. “But I don’t know much about it, still. I know he has a right shoulder sprain and he’s going to go through the process, whatever that means.”
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So now what?
The update of a sprain seems to avoid the worst-case scenario of requiring season-ending surgery, but it doesn’t mean Shamet is scheduled to return in four weeks. It just means there will be another update in about four weeks — or on Dec. 24 — which is presumably dependent on his rehab progress.
So Shamet will miss at least 11 more games starting with Wednesday against the Hornets. The Knicks are already short-handed because of OG Anunoby’s hamstring strain. Importantly, Shamet’s contract becomes guaranteed in early January and the Knicks can waive him without penalty before Jan. 7 — two weeks after the scheduled update.
If the Knicks release Shamet, they have the cap space to sign a free agent. But the options are limited — at least before the buyout market materializes in February — and Shamet has proven he is productive in this system when healthy.
We know where the coach stands.