Jose Alvarado is not going anywhere.
The homegrown guard will decline his $4.5 million player option and sign a new three-year deal worth more than $14 million to stay with the world champion New York Knicks, according to several reports on Friday, June 26. Bringing him back was a priority for the Knicks this offseason.
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For a kid from Brooklyn, the choice was not just about money.
Alvarado grew up in the city and played his high school basketball at Christ the King in Queens. He went undrafted out of Georgia Tech in 2021, latched on with New Orleans on a two-way contract and turned himself into one of the league’s peskiest defenders. They call him “Grand Theft Alvarado” for the way he robs ball handlers.
The Knicks traded for him at the February deadline for Dalen Terry, two second-round picks and cash. He averaged 6.6 points, 3.8 assists and 2.0 rebounds off the bench in 28 regular-season games with New York.
His fingerprints were all over the Knicks’ title run. Down 81-52 in Game 4 of the Finals, Alvarado hit a layup and a 3-pointer to chip into the deficit that had looked hopeless. New York won 107-106, grabbed a 3-1 lead and closed out the San Antonio Spurs in five games for its first championship since 1973.
Staying probably cost him money. There were reports that he could command as much as $10 million a year on the open free agent market. He took less to come back and then posted on social media “I’m Home,” with two hearts in Knicks orange and blue.
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Free agency opens June 30. New York still has to sort out center Mitchell Robinson and other free agents, with owner Jim Dolan’s eye on the luxury tax shaping every move.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jose Alvarado declines option, stays home by signing new Knicks deal
