Most years, as June approaches, you have plenty of time to prepare for the offseason and everything that it may potential entail, in the draft, on the trade market, and in free agency.
Yet, with the Knicks in the NBA Finals, it’ll be a quick turnaround, so in the lead-up to the Finals, we’re getting to hear some rumors surrounding Knicks free agency, specifically with two of the players about to hit the market and be in line for nice paydays.
According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, the belief around the league
is that both Landry Shamet and Mitchell Robinson will re-sign with the Knicks on multi-year contracts this summer.
After a few years of ducking the harsh penalties of the second apron, it is believed that the Knicks will blow past it to preserve the best roster in generations. The penalties are only considerably harsh if you exceed them for more than two seasons, so Bontemps believes that Shamet and Robinson will sign two-year deals to allow the team to hit a hard reset after the 2027-28 season, which by that point, much of the core will be exiting their prime in their early-to-mid 30s.
Robinson, as the longest-tenured Knick, has full Bird rights, which allow the team to extend him for as much as possible. With his injury history and limited offensive game, his market value is difficult to pin down. ESPN projected him for a three-year, $39 million contract earlier this month, but Bontemps believes a bidding war could push it over the mid-level exception, which would give him a raise over his prior deal with a max value of $64 million over four years.
Shamet, who’s risen to the level of role player folk hero that we rarely see, is in Early Bird territory in a similar fashion to Isaiah Hartenstein in 2024. Unlike Hartenstein, no team is coming with a $29 million AAV offer. Based on Early Bird rules, Shamet can extend for up to $11 million as a Year 1 salary in 2026-27, something that doesn’t feel as risky due to most teams’ financial pictures.
