Pelicans Trade Jose Alvarado To Knicks
9:02 pm: The trade is official, according to the Knicks (Twitter link). New York also acquired the draft rights to Latavious Williams, a 36-year-old forward who is currently playing in Saudi Arabia, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday.
11:33 am: New York native Jose Alvarado is heading home, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the Pelicans have agreed to a deal that will send the fifth-year guard to the Knicks.
According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), New York will send a pair of second-round picks along with Dalen Terry to New Orleans in exchange for Alvarado. The Pelicans will also receive cash, per Charania (Twitter link).
The two second-rounders headed to New Orleans are 2026 and 2027 selections, adds James L. Edwards of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link) has the full details on those selections — the 2026 pick figures to be Detroit’s second-rounder, while the 2027 pick will be the second-most favorable of four teams’ picks.
Alvarado had been connected to the Knicks in rumors for much of the season leading up to the trade deadline. New York was in the market for backcourt help and the 27-year-old was viewed as a logical fit due in part to his affordable $4.5MM cap hit, which the Knicks could accommodate by sending out Guerschon Yabusele ($5.5MM).
The Pelicans reportedly weren’t interested in taking back Yabusele, whose contract includes a 2026/27 player option, so the Knicks found another taker, making a deal with Chicago for Terry, and will flip the newly acquired forward to New Orleans in this deal — it’s also possible the two moves will be officially completed as a single transaction.
Considered a tenacious defender who brings energy off the bench, Alvarado has averaged 7.9 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game across 41 appearances for the Pelicans this season. His shooting line is .418/.363/.833.
Alvarado’s contract features a $4.5MM player option for next season. If he opts out of his deal, the Knicks would have the ability to re-sign him using his Bird rights, but they may prefer for him to opt in and negotiate an extension that begins the following season, since it would help keep the team’s payroll in check for 2026/27.
The Knicks’ need for backcourt depth was heightened on Thursday as the team got word that Miles McBride will require core muscle surgery that could sideline him until the postseason, so Alvarado is well positioned to take on a significant role upon joining his new team.
New York will now have enough breathing room below its second-apron hard cap to sign a 15th man to a minimum-salary contract rather than having to wait until late in the season to do so.
As for the Pelicans, while they were widely viewed as one of the biggest potential sellers at this year’s deadline, they’ve been quiet to this point, having reportedly told teams they wouldn’t be moving prime trade chips like Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, and Herbert Jones. While potential suitors believed that stance might change if the offers were strong enough, New Orleans hasn’t been convinced to move anyone besides Alvarado so far.
Pelicans Acquire, Waive Ish Smith
8:04pm: The Pelicans have waived Smith, the team has announced.
7:22pm: The Pelicans have acquired guard Ish Smith from the Thunder, New Orleans has announced. In addition to Smith, New Orleans will also receive the rights to Latavious Williams, cash considerations, and a 2015 protected second round pick. Oklahoma City in return will garner a 2016 protected second round draft pick. Oklahoma City needed to reduce its roster count to the league maximum 15 players, and the trade of Smith will accomplish just that. The Pelicans now have 14 players on their roster with the addition of the point guard.
Smith appeared in 30 games this season for the Thunder, averaging 1.2 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists. Since going undrafted out of Wake Forest back in 2010, Smith has appeared in 221 career games for the Suns, Magic, Rockets, Bucks and Grizzlies, averaging 2.7 points, 1.9 assists and 1.4 rebounds. His career slash line is .388/.216/.581.
Williams was the 48th overall selection by the Heat in 2010. Williams currently plays for Bilbao Basket of Liga ACB in Spain, where he has appeared in 21 games this season, averaging 7.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Thunder Notes: Hayward, Prospects, Aldrich
The Thunder are winners of eight of their last ten games and sitting atop the Western Conference. After falling short to the Hawks on Saturday night, it appeared that Kevin Durant did not want to deal with the thought of losing, writes Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK. The team will have an opportunity to regroup tomorrow night against the Mavericks, but for now there are other noteworthy points of discussion:
- Lazar Hayward has been re-called from D-League, according to NBA.com.
- Mayberry spoke with GM Sam Presti to discuss the statuses of Latavious Williams and Tibor Pleiss, two Thunder prospects who are currently playing overseas.
- In a separate article, Mayberry reports that Cole Aldrich could be making a play toward becoming the team's primary backup center.