The Knicks’ path to Mikal Bridges already looked wild enough: five first-round picks, a pick swap, Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton and Mamadi Diakite headed to Brooklyn, with Keita Bates-Diop coming back to New York. But there was another piece buried in the machinery, and it ended up mattering in a big way.
Both teams also exchanged second-round picks. More than a year later, the Knicks put theirs to work.
They moved on from Guerschon Yabusele to Dalen Terry, then sent Terry, the pick they had gotten from the Nets, and another second-rounder to the New Orleans Pelicans. That package brought back Jose Alvarado.
In the end, that made Alvarado the final piece to the Knicks’ championship puzzle.
The Nets never handed him over directly, of course. Their enormous return for Bridges turned plenty of heads in Leon Rose’s direction. Still, the Knicks could not have landed Bridges or Alvarado - two important parts of their 2026 title-winning roster - without help from across the borough.
Once Alvarado arrived, head coach Mike Brown quickly called him “irreplaceable” to New York’s efforts. The guard gave the Knicks toughness and energy, and he helped in ways that showed up both on the floor and around the team. His ball handling and defensive motor also addressed two clear Knicks needs.
His work in Games 1 and 4 of the NBA Finals only strengthened that case. Alvarado eased some of the defensive burden on Jalen Brunson when they shared the court, and he also gave Brunson a breather when the captain needed a moment on the bench.
Those contributions carried extra weight during New York’s comeback in Game 1, the greatest single-game rally in NBA Finals history, and they helped secure Alvarado’s place in Knicks history. The hometown kid had helped end the franchise’s 53-year championship drought.
And the irony only deepens from there. Alvarado’s home borough is Brooklyn, which makes his role in the Knicks’ first title in more than half a century all the more striking. He played high school basketball at Christ the King in Queens, but the guard with Puerto Rican heritage grew up in public housing in South Williamsburg.
The Knicks would not have turned Alvarado into a champion if Brooklyn had made the move itself. But New York has one more unusual footnote to tuck into its next thank-you note to Sean Marks.
In Other News...
Knicks May Have Avoided A Costly Backup Center Mistake
The Knicks spent part of the offseason looking at backup center options, and Nick Richards was one of the names on the board before he wound up with the Miami Heat. For a team trying to stabilize the minutes behind Karl-Anthony Towns, the idea made some sense on paper, but the fit was always going to be the bigger issue. Richards brings size and some interior presence, yet the broader question for New York was whether he could really give them what they need from that spot.
Andre Drummond is currently handling the primary backup center role, and the more the Knicks weigh the alternatives, the more that arrangement looks like it may have been the safer path. Richards' defensive and positional limitations made him a tricky match next to Towns, which is why New York may be better off keeping its options open rather than forcing a move that looked convenient more than useful. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks May Have Another Opening To Fix Their Backup Center Problem
The Knicks have been on the lookout for a backup center upgrade, and a familiar name may be back in play as the Pelicans sort through their own roster math. New Orleans is expected to make moves to manage luxury tax concerns after the signing of Bennedict Mathurin, and that situation could reopen conversations with teams that have had interest in its big men.
New York has already been tied to ways of making a deal work, including packaging second-round picks and potentially bringing in a third team to help balance salaries. Nothing has been finalized, but if the Pelicans need to create room, the Knicks could find themselves with another chance to address one of their more obvious depth issues. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Could Still Add A Proven Champion Before Opening Night
Bruce Brown is still sitting in free agency as opening night gets closer, and the longer he remains available, the more he looks like the kind of low-drama addition contenders tend to circle back to in September. A 2023 NBA champion, Brown gave Denver a steady dose of energy and versatility last season, appearing in every regular-season game and then again in the playoffs while providing the kind of connective play that can fit almost anywhere.
For the Knicks, that makes him an appealing name to keep in the mix if they decide there is still room to shore up the roster before the season tips off. New York has been built around depth, toughness and playoff-readiness, and Browns experience in that environment is easy to see as a potential fit, even if the final decision on whether he lands in Manhattan remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]