The Knicks traded two second-round picks for Jose Alvarado, but the 6-foot guard is not part of New York’s top group of nine players for the playoffs, head coach Mike Brown said ahead of the postseason.
That leaves Alvarado, a Brooklyn native who went undrafted before building a career with the New Orleans Pelicans, in an awkward spot after a move that was made to add ball handling. He did not play in either of New York’s wins over the Hawks or Celtics last week.
For the Knicks, the decision is less about what Alvarado brought in the margins than about how the rotation has tightened. Brown’s choice also reflects the arrival of Jordan Clarkson, one reason the team appears comfortable leaving Alvarado out when the games have mattered most.
Alvarado’s path to this point explains why the trade drew attention beyond the box score. The deal was framed as a hometown return, and early on he gave New York the kind of energy that fit the conversation around him. Earlier in the season, captain Jalen Brunson called that energy a skill, a nod to the way Alvarado can change the temperature of a game without dominating the ball.
Alvarado, for his part, has said he had taken his own energy as a given for several years at the NBA level. That confidence helped him carve out a role in New Orleans after going undrafted, and it is part of why the Knicks saw enough to spend draft capital on him in the first place.
But his recent stretch has been less convincing. The early performances were strong, yet the article says he struggled in high-leverage games, which helps explain why Brown did not include him among the playoff nine. That does not necessarily close the door on his Knicks future, but it does show how quickly a midseason acquisition can move from useful add-on to spare piece once the postseason arrives.
