Phoenix Suns: 3 Things Landry Shamet Brings to the Table

The Phoenix Suns refused to wait until the NBA Draft’s opening moments to begin retooling their roster. Agreeing to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets, the Suns just swapped pick No. 29 and Jevon Carter for sharpshooter Landry Shamet.

The exchange makes Shamet a traveler on draft day for the second straight season now, as it was during the 2020 NBA Draft when the Nets acquired his services from the Los Angeles Clippers. Before that, he played for the Philadelphia 76ers, who selected him during same draft Phoenix took Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges.

Set to play for his fourth team even as just a third-year NBA player, Shamet continues to search for a permanent home. Now the Suns once again call him out west, likely viewing him as an x-factor to push over the hump and directly beside the Larry O’Brien trophy.

But in order to do so, Shamet needs to perform. He experienced some incredibly streaky play for the Nets last year, starting out his tenure with the team going 5-20 from outside.

However, he came through with some big outings as well, including eight contests where he knocked down over five 3-pointers. At only 24-years old, Shamet’s ceiling remains quite high, but his inconsistencies still make him something of a mixed bag.

But nonetheless, he now belongs to the Phoenix Suns, and after digesting his game from top to bottom—these three things stuck out as his greatest attributes to the team.

Landry Shamet will help the Phoenix Suns space the floor

Above all else, Shamet adds additional 3-point shooting to the Suns for next year. But thinking beyond that, his ability to just space the floor poises to help out Phoenix at an even more extensive level.

We know from his past that we might need to labor through a few nights each month where the shots for Shamet just refuse to go down. But even during said contests, Shamet’s ability just to threaten opposing defenses as someone with shooting capabilities will open things up for their other weapons.

With any offense, if you pull more defenders out to cover along the 3-point arc, you simultaneously open up wider lanes for cuts to the hoop, one-on-one matchups for bigs around the rim, and uncontested triples following drive and kick actions.

That layout absolutely benefits Mikal Bridges, who makes decisive cuts for layups perhaps better than anyone on the team, as well as Deandre Ayton, who embodies a true mismatch for almost anyone down low.

But the additional high-percentage 3-pointers coming Phoenix’s way looks like the greatest asset coming from Shamet purely as a floor spacer. Even with an astounding 11 players shooting above 35.0 percent from outside last year, the Suns took only the 15th most shots from there amongst all NBA teams.

Clearly with the skills to rain fire from outside, the Suns just need to pull the trigger from deep more often. The open looks encouraged by Shamet’s presence on the floor though will unlock that, and take Phoenix to another level.

Landry Shamet can help the Phoenix Suns on the fast break

Those that know Shamet’s game also know that his shooting only caps off his offensive arsenal. Often moving with great speed and decisiveness, Shamet helps generate quick hitting, fast break points almost every time he takes the floor.

Phoenix needs a guy like that exponentially. Last year, the Suns nearly found themselves as a bottom-half NBA team regarding transition points, only scoring 19.9 per game. That tally is not bad by any means, but for a team looking to make it back to the NBA Finals, “not bad” does not exactly cut it.

The Suns also consistently submitted themselves to a half court, isolation-based offense during their NBA Finals series with the Bucks, which eventually lead to their demise once Milwaukee’s defense began to wear them down. But Shamet’s speed down the floor and instincts on the break can help reviatalize this fossilized portion of Phoenix’s offense from last year.

Obviously, the Suns will not be playing the Bucks for every game during the 2021-22 season, but they might run into similar problems as other teams continue to study and mount defenses against them. For this reason, it feels quite comforting for them to now carry Shamet in their back pocket, capable of sparking a fast break at any moment.

Landry Shamet gives the Phoenix Suns another true shooting guard

Although Shamet possesses enough ball skills to work as a decent point guard, he more so embodies a true NBA shooting guard, which the Suns gravely lacked behind Booker last season.

E’Twaun Moore, Ty-Shon Alexander, and Langston Galloway rounded out Phoenix’s roster a year ago as the team’s only other listed shooting guards after Booker—with not a single one averaging over 14.4 minutes per game. Naturally, Booker lead the Suns last season with a taxing 33.9 minutes played per contest.

Although Booker’s youthfulness makes his increased play time somewhat acceptable, it still warrants some concern. You want to keep your stars fresh, and with Shamet now aboard, the Suns bear the assets to do so.

Shamet carried himself admirably amongst an all-time great Brooklyn Nets offense last year, averaging 9.3 points and 1.6 assists per game during the regular season. He may not put game-breaking numbers up each time out, but can absolutely keep the Suns afloat during a few sequences each game as Booker rests up.

Additionally, we know not if Cameron Payne or Chris Paul plan to return to the Suns next year. Moore, Alexander, and Galloway all carry expiring contracts into the offseason as well. So even from a general “guard” standpoint, the Shamet provides some much needed insurance should the team strike out completely during free agency.