Jose Alvarado is no Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Jose Alvarado is a New York Knick.
Alvarado might have been the most rumored target not named Giannis for the Knicks all season long, and unlike their attempt at prying Antetokounmpo, the Knicks had enough to trade for Alvarado, finally pulling the trigger hours before the trade deadline.
Shams Charania of ESPN reported that New York acquired the Brooklyn native for Dalen Terry, who the Knicks acquired for Guerschon Yabusele last night, two second-round picks, and cash.
Alvarado, who is averaging 7.9PPG, 3.1APG, 2.8RPG, and 0.9SPG this season, brings a level of toughness and physicality the Knicks have missed at times this year. And while plugging in a 6-foot point guard into a rotation that already includes the undersized Jalen Brunson and Deuce McBride may seem both redundant and unnecessary, this is still a short-term upgrade considering the Knicks brought in a proven rotation player for Yabusele, who had been unproductive in his limited minutes thus far.
Alvarado also gives the Knicks more flexibility in the kinds of lineups they can field. If head coach Mike Brown chooses to do so, he can now play McBride next to Brunson much more, without worrying about back-up point guard minutes. His ball-handling abilities will be a breath of fresh air for a team that lacks playmaking and creativity. That should allow him to thrive both next to Brunson, as well as the other starters, and more specifically, Karl-Anthony Towns, who has looked and performed better next to Tyler Kolek, a more traditional point guard. Additionally, Alvarado also gives them an additional point-of-attack defender, something they’ve badly needed.
His counting stats may not stick out, and his splits of 41.8%/36.3%/83.3% aren’t going to wow anyone either. But his contagious energy, combined with having his hometown crowd behind him, should lead to some fun and memorable moments.
Ultimately, this move will be judged on two things, though.
One, obviously, will be how he plays. Seeing as Yabusele spent most of the season looking like one of the worst free-agent signings this decade, that likely won’t be a very high hurdle.
Welcome to New York, Jose!