When the Phoenix Suns added Landry Shamet this offseason, his prolific shooting ability, as well as his off-ball movement both around screens and in transition stood out as the most exciting components of his game.
Landry Shamet’s flexibility makes him an easily insertable player, which makes the Phoenix Suns a team to watch from beyond the arc.
Last season, the Suns found success during the playoffs with a three-guard rotation, where Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Cameron Payne all played well with each other, but almost never at the same time. However, going into this upcoming year, that possibility has been discussed again due to Shamet’s arrival.
Monty Williams said he thinks Landry Shamet can play with any of the Suns' other 3 main guards (CP3, Book, Payne). He said they even talked about the possibility of 3-guard lineups with him, CP3 and Book. Liked his interior passing and defense tonight too.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) October 5, 2021
So how would those lineups work, and who would be playing with who?
For defensive purposes, the idea of running out a Paul-Payne-Shamet lineup would seem far-fetched given Shamet’s lacking size and strength when it comes to defending forwards. Booker needs to be included, and needs to keep guarding other teams’ forwards, like he did with Khris Middleton toward the end of the NBA Finals.
But while playing alongside Booker and Paul/Payne, Shamet gives the Suns what they missed last year: the ability to shoot the ball off movement and drive for either a closer shot or to kick it out.
The first part is likely what kept Payne from making those lineups a reality last season, and is what makes Shamet special in that area.
Letting Shamet run free to show all that he can or sometimes cannot do strikes a good idea for the Suns both on and off the court. Shamet possesses skills to spark a stagnant offense off the bench at any time, or fill in nobly if someone above of him in the rotation were to go down.
He also remains attached to an expiring contract, and if the Suns want to keep him around past this year, then getting the full Landry Shamet experience, at least during the regular season, should be a priority.