Recently, the New York Knicks have been exposed for lacking playmaking outside of Jalen Brunson, who, unfortunately, is out with an ankle injury.
This problem has become more apparent with his absence, but it remains when he is on the court.
Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart pick up some slack when needed, but their backup guards, Miles McBride and Jordan Clarkson, are definitely score-first players.
To solve this problem, Dan Favale of Daily Knicks has targeted one player who would be the perfect addition to the Knicks roster.
“Mike Brown believes the New York Knicks’ struggles to guard the three-point line are due in part because they’re on-ball defense is lackluster. He might as well just come out and say he wants the front office to trade for Jose Alvarado of the New Orleans Pelicans,” Favale said Tuesday.
“Though he’s listed at just six-foot, he’s among the NBA’s hardest-to-escape defenders. He has ranked no lower than the 84th percentile in screen navigation for each of the past three years, according to BBall Index.”
Jose Alvarado would not only add a secondary creator to the Knicks' rotation, but his tenacity and perimeter defense are much-needed.
OG Anunoby, the team's best perimeter defender, is out with a hamstring injury.
When he returns, a lineup with Hart, Anunoby, and Alvarado would be a nightmare for opposing teams when trying to score.
Head Coach Mike Brown wouldn’t shy away from triple-guard lineups with McBride, Brunson, and Alvarado either, because they have the size to make up for it in the frontcourt with Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Alvarado has a player-option that will be activated at the end of this year, so he can either accept the $4.5 million or rework something with the Knicks that will prove his value.
Alvarado is averaging 19.8 minutes per game with the New Orleans Pelicans, but he is soaking up a lot of Jordan Poole’s minutes while he is out.
New Orleans may be open to trading him to allow Jeremiah Fears and Poole to run the backcourt.
More NBA: Perfect Knicks trade to stay competitive while Jalen Brunson recovers from injury