Suns extend G Landry Shamet on 4-year, $43 million deal
Oct 18, 2021, 2:21 PM
Landry Shamet #14 of the Phoenix Suns during the NBA preseason game at Footprint Center on October 06, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Lakers 117-105. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns have agreed to sign guard Landry Shamet to a four-year, $43 million extension, his agent told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The deal was agreed to before the 3 p.m. deadline Monday and kicks in after this upcoming season.
Phoenix had already agreed to keep Mikal Bridges, another 2018 draft class member, on a four-year extension beyond 2021-22. However, Wojnarowski reported earlier Monday that extension talks with center Deandre Ayton have stalled.
Shamet, 24, was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in the offseason via a trade of guard Jevon Carter and the 29th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
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The shooting guard is on his fourth team in four years after originally being drafted 26th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2018 out of Wichita State. He was involved in a midseason trade his rookie season centered around the 76ers bringing in Tobias Harris. That sent Shamet to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Shamet would spend a season-and-a-half with Los Angeles before getting traded to Brooklyn as a part of a trade with guard Luke Kennard going from Detroit to the Clippers. Shamet then played with the Nets last season, averaging 9.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in 23.0 minutes a night, shooting 40.8% from the field.
The fourth-year pro has cemented himself as one of the league’s best shooters, posting a three-point percentage of 39.7% over his career on 5.3 attempts per game.
Suns head coach Monty Williams was an assistant in Philly during Shamet’s time there, forming a bond with the two-guard and having a strong familiarity with his game. Williams has been optimistic throughout training camp that the Suns can get more out of Shamet offensively than just being a shooter.
Shamet was primarily a point guard in college but has mostly been used in the NBA as a floor spacer and high-IQ ball-mover by teams in the NBA.
The Suns struggled at times last season to have a consistent ball-handler outside the trio of Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Cam Payne. That’s where Shamet could prove to be a valuable part of the rotation.
