The wild start to the NBA career for Wichita State’s Landry Shamet takes another turn
The wild ride to start Landry Shamet’s NBA career took another twist and turn on Thursday.
Shamet has reportedly been traded by the Brooklyn Nets to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jevon Carter and the No. 29 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, per a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Since the 6-foot-4 guard from Kansas City left Wichita State following the 2017-18 season, Shamet has now been traded three times in his NBA career and perhaps even more astonishing, will have played for four different teams with NBA championship aspirations.
In just four seasons in the NBA, Shamet will have played with Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Devon Booker and potentially Chris Paul.
Shamet’s story began after leaving WSU following a breakout redshirt sophomore season, a decision that proved wise when the Philadelphia 76ers drafted him in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft with the No. 26 pick.
But playing alongside All-Stars in Embiid, Butler and Simmons didn’t even last a full season, as Shamet was dealt at the trading deadline on Feb. 6, 2019 to the Los Angeles Clippers. When the playoffs came and the Clippers were matched against the top-seeded Golden State Warriors, the WSU rookie stunned the two-time defending champions in Game 2 of the series when he drilled four three-pointers off the bench and helped the Clippers erase a 31-point deficit. Shamet finished his rookie year making 2.1 threes per game on 42.2% accuracy for one of the best debut shooting seasons in NBA history.
Following his rookie season, the Clippers transformed from a scrappy underdog team to a super team almost overnight when they acquired Leonard and George. In his lone full season with the Clippers, Shamet again helped his team reach the playoffs and averaged 9.3 points per game.
In November 2020, Shamet once again was on the move — this time as part of a three-team trade with the Clippers sending him to the Brooklyn Nets. And just like in LA, Shamet was once again joining a super team that would feature some of the top NBA stars in Durant, Harden and Irving.
Shamet averaged 9.3 points per game once again and made 38.7% of his three-pointers, while once again playing for a team that reached the NBA playoffs. The Nets ultimately succumbed to injuries and bowed out in the Eastern Conference semifinals. For his career, Shamet is averaging 9.2 points per game after three seasons and drilling 2.1 threes per game on 39.7% accuracy.
Now he will join a Phoenix Suns team that is coming off an NBA Finals appearance after winning the Western Conference. Shamet could play with two more superstars in Chris Paul and Devin Booker in Phoenix.
Shamet is on the final year of his rookie contract, which is set to pay him $3.77 million for the 2021-22 season. He will be a restricted free agent next summer with expectations of cashing in on his valuable sharpshooting that has made him a desirable target for playoff-quality teams.
This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 4:35 PM.
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