The New York Knicks did a great job of bringing back most of their team this summer after winning the 2026 NBA Championship. Whenever a team wins a title, that’s the goal. You want to bring back most of the guys that helped win a title the year prior. But with how expensive New York’s roster is, they could have to make some cuts very soon.
The Knicks already lost Mitchell Robinson in free agency, and Miles McBride could be next. McBride is going to be playing on the final year of his contract, but New York may not want to pay him. So, they could have to trade him by the deadline or let him walk. Luckily for the Knicks, they have Jose Alvarado.
Having Alvarado on board (and on a new contract) could make it a lot easier for the Knicks to move on from McBride instead of giving him a new, likely expensive contract.
Jose Alvarado could make it easy for Knicks to move on from Miles McBride
The Knicks acquired Alvarado in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans around the deadline last year. They shipped out Guerschon Yabusele in a separate deal for Dalen Terry, then moved Terry and draft capital for Alvarado.
That trade paid dividends for the Knicks. By the time the NBA Finals came around, Alvarado was forced to play a huge role for the Knicks. Without him, they may not have been able to get the job done as easily.
His contributions in the NBA Finals did not go unnoticed. At one point, head coach Mike Brown even decided to close the crucial Game 4 with Alvarado instead of Mikal Bridges.
Then, this summer, when it came time to hand Alvarado a new contract, the Knicks got a deal done. Alvarado was an unrestricted free agent, but the Knicks came to an agreement with him on a new deal.
New York signed Alvarado to a three-year, $14.4 million contract that will keep Alvarado on the books for years to come. That could make McBride a bit more expendable.
As the Knicks look to make a tough decision regarding the future of McBride’s contract, Alvarado could make their choice easy: Move on.
McBride has been an important piece of the puzzle for the Knicks. But he could be expensive. And the Knicks have a lot of players whom they need to pay.
So, having Alvarado on a longer-term contract could help the Knicks move on from McBride instead of paying him.
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