Jose Alvarado Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Morant, Pelicans Bench, Spurs Slump, Lively

January 19th, 2025 at 9:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies could play again without their floor leader on Monday. Ja Morant is listed as questionable against Minnesota due to right foot soreness, the team’s PR department tweets.

Morant, who is averaging 21.4 points and 7.5 assists, has already missed 18 games this season and is ineligible for postseason honors. He was also unavailable for Friday’s 28-point win over San Antonio.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

The Pelicans reserves have made a major impact during the team’s three-game winning streak, Rod Walker of the New Orleans Times Picayune writes. “This bench is a team that wants to win every minute that we get,” guard Jose Alvarado said. “We know that it can be 10 minutes, five minutes, two minutes or 20 minutes. We’re going to attack it like it’s the (NBA) Finals.” Alvarado led the bench brigade on Friday with 19 points, including six 3-pointers.
The Spurs, who are headed to Paris to face Indiana, will look at the trip as a chance to turn their fortunes around. They have lost three straight and six of their last seven after falling to Miami on Sunday. “This hasn’t been our best stretch of basketball and there are some things we need to shore up, and we’ve played some really good teams and they’ve exposed some things,” acting coach Mitch Johnson told Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “We’re looking forward to Paris, but I don’t think we overlooked this team or in (losing twice to) Memphis.”
The Mavericks list Dereck Lively as questionable to play against Charlotte on Monday due to a right ankle sprain, Grant Afseth tweets. Lively has missed the last two games after suffering the injury on Tuesday against Denver.

Trade Rumors: Butler, C. Johnson, Nets, Grizzlies, Pelicans

January 3rd, 2025 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The rest of the NBA is watching the standoff between the Heat and Jimmy Butler with “their popcorn out,” according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Insider link), who notes that team president Pat Riley doesn’t make a habit of deferring to his star players, operating with a “bluntness and strength” that’s somewhat atypical of team executives in this era.

“You cannot intimidate Pat Riley,” one prominent player agent said to ESPN.

As Windhorst details, Riley let longtime franchise star Dwyane Wade walk over a contract dispute in free agency in 2016 and reportedly shut down LeBron James when the star forward hinted he wanted head coach Erik Spoelstra replaced back in 2010. If the longtime Heat president approaches the Butler situation with a similar mindset, he’s not likely to grant the 35-year-old’s trade request if he doesn’t like what Miami is getting in return.

“The Heat make mistakes and sometimes have issues with players just like everyone else,” one general manager told Windhorst. “But they do not get pushed around.”

As Tim Bontemps of ESPN points out within the same story, under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, it’s not necessarily the worst outcome to have a maximum-salary free agent walk away for nothing. The Clippers took that route with Paul George this past offseason, opting for additional cap flexibility rather than taking back contracts that they didn’t want and would’ve had trouble moving. If the trade offers for Butler are underwhelming, the Heat may decide that’s the best path for them too.

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:

While Cameron Johnson is among the most coveted trade targets in the NBA, talks involving the Nets forward are expected to be more complex than the ones for Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith, according to Windhorst, so they’ll take more time. There will be more suitors in play for Johnson, and Brooklyn has made it clear the price will be higher than it was for its other veterans. As Windhorst writes, the Nets have expressed a belief that Johnson could be a long-term keeper, since he’d fit well alongside just about any impact player they’re able to land in the coming years. Still, at least one rival executive believes that stance may just be a negotiating tactic. “That’s all good to say, but they’ll trade him if they get what they want,” the exec said. “They like him as a player and a person and all that, but they built his contract specifically to be able to trade him by next summer.”
The bidding war between Memphis and the Lakers for Finney-Smith resulted in “hard feelings emanating” from the Grizzlies and the Nets for the way their talks played out, according to Windhorst. That doesn’t mean the two sides can’t come together for another deal – Memphis is reportedly among Johnson’s possible suitors – but it’s something worth keeping in mind ahead of February 6.
Bontemps asked several people around the NBA how many players earning more than Johnson’s $22.5MM will be traded at this season’s deadline. “Not many,” one said. Another replied, “Maybe two?” The thinking is that CBA-related restrictions will complicate moves involving players with significant cap hits.
William Guillory of The Athletic takes a closer look at the Pelicans‘ trade options, identifying Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy, and Yves Missi as the only players on the roster who are essentially untouchable this season. Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Jordan Hawkins, and Jose Alvarado aren’t technically in that group, but are also unlikely trade candidates, in Guillory’s view.

Injury Notes: Pelicans, Lakers, Celtics, Ivey, M. Robinson

January 2nd, 2025 at 5:03pm CST by Rory Maher

After missing the past 23 games with a left hamstring strain, Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado says he plans to return to action on Friday vs. Washington, as Will Guillory of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).

“I’ll be playing tomorrow for sure,” Alvarado said. “No doubt. … I finally get to be Jose again. It’s going to be a lot of crazy man out there.”

Both of the Pelicans’ injured star forwards — Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson — were spotted getting some on-court work in after Thursday’s practice, according to Guillory (Twitter video links).

Williamson has been out since Nov. 6 with a left hamstring strain and was considered week-to-week nine days ago. Ingram, who has been out since Dec. 7 due to a “significant” left ankle sprain, is set to be reevaluated next week.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

Anthony Davis (left ankle sprain) and Gabe Vincent (left oblique strain) are unlikely to suit up on Thursday when the Lakers host Portland, according to Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group (Twitter link). Both players have been downgraded to doubtful after initially being listed as questionable.
The Celtics have downgraded Jaylen Brown (right shoulder strain) and Kristaps Porzingis (left ankle sprain) from questionable to out for Thursday’s game in Minnesota, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Porzingis, who will miss his fourth consecutive game with the injury, said he was “definitely getting close” to returning following shootaround in the afternoon, per Jay King of The Athletic (Twitter link). Thursday will mark Brown’s first absence with the shoulder issue and sixth missed game overall.
Jaden Ivey underwent surgery on Thursday morning to repair the broken fibula in his left leg after sustaining the injury on Wednesday. Although Ivey will reportedly miss most — if not all — of the rest of the season, Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press hears there’s optimism the Pistons guard did not sustain ligament or tendon damage, which is encouraging news (Twitter link).
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has yet to make his season debut as he recovers from offseason ankle surgery. Although he hasn’t been able to run at full speed to this point, head coach Tom Thibodeau said the team is expecting Robinson to be cleared for practices “sometime this month,” according to SNY.tv.

Latest On Zion, Ingram, Other Injured Pelicans

December 24th, 2024 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, who has been sidelined since November 6 due to a left hamstring strain, has entered the “return to play conditioning phase” of his rehab process, according to a press release from the team.

The expectation, per the Pelicans, is that Williamson will resume practicing in full next week. He’s considered week-to-week as he nears a return to action.

The former No. 1 overall pick has been limited to just six appearances this season. He averaged 22.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 31.0 minutes per game across those six outings. Although the Pelicans won just two of those six games, they’ve been significantly worse without Williamson available, winning just three of the 24 contests he has missed.

The Pelicans’ other star forward, Brandon Ingram, has been on the shelf since December 7 due to a “significant” left ankle sprain. According to today’s announcement, Ingram is still in the “early treatment and recovery phase” of his rehab and will be sidelined for the foreseeable future. The plan is to reevaluate him in two weeks, the team says.

New Orleans lost the game in which Ingram was injured and has subsequently dropped all six games he has missed as well.

Here are a few more injury updates from the Pelicans:

Fourth-year guard Jose Alvarado, out since Nov. 11 with a left hamstring strain, is at the same stage of his rehab as Williamson, having entered the “return to play conditioning” portion. Like Zion, Alvarado is on track to practice in full next week and will be considered week-to-week going forward.
Swingman Trey Murphy injured his left ankle in Sunday’s game vs. Denver, but the injury isn’t considered serious. He has been diagnosed with a mild left ankle sprain and will be considered day-to-day.
Rookie big man Karlo Matkovic, who last played on December 1, is in the return to play conditioning phase of his rehab from a low back disc protrusion. He’s week-to-week, according to the club.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans Trade Rumors, McCollum, Hawkins, Morant, Smart

December 19th, 2024 at 9:40am CST by Dana Gauruder

Reacting to a report that the Pelicans have made most of their roster available in the trade market, head coach Willie Green said he’d address the rumors with the team at the appropriate time.

“Eventually, we’ll have some discussions on what’s true and what’s not true,” Green told Rod Walker of the New Orleans Times Picayune. “But for the most part, we try to block out any noise, any distractions. We’ve got a lot to focus on without that. Our focus is on coming in every day with the right perspective, getting after it at practice, locking in to our film work and getting prepared for our games. Some of the rumors and some of the things we are hearing are out of our control. We’ll do the best that we can to continue communicating with our group.”

Veteran guard CJ McCollum, one of the players who could be on the move, understands why there is so much trade buzz around the team.

“Obviously we aren’t doing well,” McCollum said. “So teams are going to be circling like sharks to try to figure out who they can poach. Our team may be entertaining trades, may not be entertaining trades. Who knows?”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Jordan Hawkins (lumbar spine annular fissure) could return to action tonight for the Pelicans against Houston. He was upgraded to questionable on Wednesday’s official injury report, according to a team press release. The second-year guard has missed the last eight games. Jose Alvarado (left hamstring strain), Brandon Ingram (left ankle sprain), Karlo Matkovic (low back disc protrusion), Daniel Theis (personal reasons) and Zion Williamson (left hamstring strain) remain out.
The Grizzlies could be without two prominent guards against Golden State tonight. Ja Morant is listed as questionable with left shoulder soreness, while Marcus Smart is doubtful due to lower back soreness, the team’s PR department tweets.
Smart has been coming off the bench, but he’s been getting crunch time minutes. That has helped the Grizzlies guard accept his new role, he told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “At the end of the day, you want to be on the court,” he said. “You want to be on the court in the moment of the game that matters the most. That’s the goal. As long as I’m in those moments, I’m not really complaining. I think my resume speaks for itself that it shouldn’t even be a question on whether I’m going to be in those moments or not. But like I said, I can just control what I can control.”

Pelicans Provide Injury Updates On Zion Williamson, Four Others

December 4th, 2024 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The injury-ravaged Pelicans have announced in a press release that forward Zion Williamson is progressing well in his recovery from a left hamstring strain and will be reevaluated in about two weeks.

Reporting nearly two weeks ago indicated that Williamson wasn’t close to a return — the latest update from the Pelicans doesn’t suggest otherwise. While it’s possible the former No. 1 overall pick will be ready to suit up when he’s examined in two weeks, it’s more likely that his absence will extend beyond that date.

Williamson has been limited to just six games so far this season and hasn’t been active since November 6. The Pelicans have gone 1-12 since he last played.

Besides providing an update on Williamson, New Orleans also shared news on several other injured players within today’s announcement. Here’s the latest from the team:

Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, like Williamson, is said to be progressing well through his rehabilitation process and will be reevaluated in approximately two weeks. Alvarado has been sidelined since November 11 due to a left hamstring strain.
Second-year wing Jordan Hawkins, who has missed 11 games this season due to what the team has typically referred to as low back soreness, has been diagnosed with a lumbar spine annular fissure. He’ll be reevaluated in about a week.
Forwards Brandon Ingram (right plantaris tendonitis) and Herbert Jones (right shoulder strain) both went through a full practice on Wednesday and will be listed as questionable to play on Thursday vs. Phoenix. Ingram has missed New Orleans’ past five games, while Jones has been out for 18 in a row. Shams Charania of ESPN reported earlier this week that both players were trending toward being able to return on Thursday.

Western Notes: Durant, Beal, Rockets, Giannis, Marshall, Pelicans

November 20th, 2024 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s optimism that Kevin Durant will be able to return from his left calf strain at some point next week, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter video link), who suggests the Suns star could be back on the court as soon as Tuesday for an NBA Cup matchup with the Lakers.

There’s also optimism that Bradley Beal, who is dealing with a left calf strain of his own, will be able to return at some point next week, says Charania.

After taking on the Knicks on Wednesday in Phoenix, the Suns will have five days off before facing the Lakers, so if Durant can make it back for that Tuesday game, he’ll only be sidelined for one more contest. That would be great news for the Suns, who got off to an 8-1 start with Durant in the lineup and have gone 1-5 since he went down.

Here are a few more notes from around the Western Conference:

The Rockets aren’t interested in breaking up their core to acquire Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). The report is presumably a response to Marc Stein saying that rival teams are keeping an eye on Houston as a possible Antetokounmpo suitor should he become available. However, given that Giannis isn’t actually available and Houston’s “core” isn’t precisely defined, it reads less like the Rockets are taking a hard-line position they’ll stick to in hypothetical negotiations down the road and more like they simply want to express how highly they value their young players.
Mavericks forward Naji Marshall admitted he was “a little bit excited” to play the Pelicans on Tuesday, since it was his first time since entering the NBA that he got a chance to face a former team, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Marshall, who had 15 points and three steals as Dallas secured a blowout win, said he has enjoyed seeing several former teammates who arrived in New Orleans around the same time as him secure contract extensions. “It’s crazy to see how it panned out,” Marshall said, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “Herb (Jones) is somebody. Jose (Alvarado). Trey (Murphy). Me. It’s a blessing. It’s something you dream about literally. When we were kids, wondering if we were going to be here or not. To see it all pan out and go in our favor is amazing.”
Reinforcements should be coming soon for the injury-plagued Pelicans, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic, who says CJ McCollum could be back as soon as this Friday, with Jones and Jordan Hawkins to follow in the coming weeks. There’s hope that the team will be mostly healthy early next month, Guillory writes, though Alvarado’s and Zion Williamson‘s absences will likely extend beyond that. As Guillory details, if and when the Pelicans get back to full strength, the pressure will be on head coach Willie Green to get the team back into playoff contention.

Pelicans’ Jose Alvarado Expected To Miss Six Weeks

November 12th, 2024 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

12:09pm: The Pelicans have officially announced that Alvarado has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain (Twitter link).

According to the team, the guard will be reevaluated in three weeks, though that doesn’t mean he’ll be ready to return at that time. As noted below, Charania cited sources who estimated a six-week recovery timeline.

11:17am: The bad news just keeps on coming for the Pelicans, who are already missing several rotation players due to injuries and have now lost another one. According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), guard Jose Alvarado is expected to be out for six weeks due to a hamstring injury.

Alvarado typically plays a relatively modest rotation role off the bench for the Pelicans, but has started seven of 11 games and logged major minutes this season due to the team’s injury woes.

In his last six full games prior to injuring his hamstring on Monday, the 26-year-old had averaged 17.2 points, 5.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in 33.3 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .422/.447/.800.

Alvarado is one of six Pelicans starters or rotation players currently sidelined. The team is also operating without Zion Williamson (hamstring), Dejounte Murray (hand), CJ McCollum (adductor), Herbert Jones (shoulder), and Jordan Hawkins (back) as a result of multi-week injuries. Additionally, Trey Murphy (hamstring) missed the team’s first 10 games before making his season debut on Monday.

Teams can apply for a hardship exception allowing them to add an extra player to their 15-man roster if they have four players who have missed at least three games due to injuries and are expected to remain out for at least two more weeks.

The hardship exception allows for an extra temporary roster spot for each additionally unavailable player beyond that minimum four-player threshold, meaning the Pelicans could qualify for multiple hardship exceptions once Williamson and Alvarado have missed at least three games apiece. If Hawkins is also expected to miss an extended period, New Orleans could be eligible for as many as three extra roster spots, though the recovery timeline originally reported for Hawkins was just a week or two.

Of course, it’s also worth noting that hardship signings will count toward the Pelicans’ team salary for cap and tax purposes and the club is currently operating about $2.8MM over the luxury tax line, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. New Orleans, having never paid the tax, will likely try to sneak below the threshold later in the season, so the team may be wary about adding additional salary to its books, even on 10-day hardship contracts.

After Monday’s loss to Brooklyn, the Pelicans are 3-8, placing them in a tie with Portland for the No. 13 seed in the Western Conference. New Orleans has a challenging stretch of games on tap that includes matchups with the Thunder, Nuggets, Lakers, Mavericks, Cavaliers, Warriors, and Pacers in the next two weeks.

Injury Notes: Raptors, Zion, Morant, Melton, Vassell

November 8th, 2024 at 5:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors rookie Ja’Kobe Walter, who missed the preseason and the first five games of the regular season with a sprained right AC joint, has re-sprained that joint and will be reevaluated in a week, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.

It’s not all bad news on the injury front for Toronto though. Rookie forward Jonathan Mogbo is listed as probable to play on Saturday after exiting Wednesday’s game with a hip pointer, while starting point guard Immanuel Quickley has been upgraded to questionable after missing the last eight games with a pelvic contusion (Twitter link via Murphy).

There’s optimism Quickley will be back in action this weekend, either on Saturday vs. the Clippers or Sunday vs. the Lakers, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Pelicans star Zion Williamson was ruled out for Friday’s game against Orlando about 90 minutes before tip-off (Twitter link via the team). As Christian Clark of NOLA.com notes (via Twitter), Williamson has now missed three of the team’s past four games with three different injury designations. He was sidelined by right hamstring tightness on Sunday, right thigh soreness on Monday, and left hamstring tightness today. With Zion out, the injury-plagued Pelicans are running out a starting lineup of Jose Alvarado, Brandon Boston, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and Yves Missi alongside Brandon Ingram, tweets Clark.
After leaving Wednesday’s win due to hip and hamstring discomfort, Grizzlies star Ja Morant will miss Friday’s contest vs. Washington due to right hip soreness. The point guard will undergo more imaging on Saturday to assess the severity of his injury and determine a return timeline, head coach Taylor Jenkins told reporters today (Twitter link via Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com).
Warriors guard De’Anthony Melton, who has missed five consecutive games due to a low back strain, has been cleared to return for Friday’s showdown vs. the 9-0 Cavaliers, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Draymond Green (right knee contusion) and Brandin Podziemski (illness) will also be available for Golden State, giving the team a fully healthy roster (Twitter link via Slater).
As expected, Devin Vassell remains on track to make his season debut for the Spurs on Saturday after nine games while recovering from foot surgery. The team has listed him as probable to play vs. Utah, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link).

Southwest Notes: Alvarado, Pelicans, Morant, Edey, Adams, Rockets

October 26th, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

With Dejounte Murray sidelined for at least four-to-six weeks, the Pelicans will be counting on recently extended guard Jose Alvarado to move up the depth chart and take on a bigger role this fall, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com.

“Jose’s gotta step up big time for us,” head coach Willie Green said. “We all love Jose and we know he brings it night in and night out and we know he’s going to step right up to the plate and get it done for us.”

Alvarado played 13 minutes on Friday in New Orleans’ first game without Murray and contributed four assists and three steals, but also went scoreless and committed four turnovers. He’ll likely see more minutes in the days and weeks to come, but the Pelicans leaned more heavily on guards CJ McCollum (40 minutes) and Jordan Hawkins (29 minutes) to complete a comeback win over Portland on Friday.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

After missing most of last season due to a shoulder injury, Ja Morant looks fully healthy this fall, but only played 28 minutes in Wednesday’s opener and 24 on Friday. Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins, noting that Morant sat out three of five preseason games, said the team is still getting its star point guard up to full speed during a stretch of six games in nine days, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “We’re working with him and the medical team about how we want to deploy him over this stretch right now,” Jenkins said. “Obviously he was out for a portion of preseason, so getting his game legs and conditioning right.”
At the conclusion of the Grizzlies‘ loss to the Rockets on Friday, rookie Zach Edey met Steven Adams at halfcourt and spent more than two minutes talking to the former Grizzlies center. Edey, referring to the conversation as “big man stuff,” declined to go into specifics after the game, but said he welcomed the opportunity to get some advice from a player whose game he admires. “That’s somebody I’ve been watching for a while,” Edey said, according to Cole. “So everything he’s telling me, I’m listening to.”
The combination of Amen Thompson and Tari Eason on the second unit helped provide the shut-down defense the Rockets needed to pull away from Memphis in the second half of Friday’s game. As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle details, the defensive potential of that Thompson/Eason duo off the bench is something that excites the team. “We always talk about what we can do defensively and how we’re going to be special if we’re locked in,” Eason said. “We just gave each other that look and talked with (head coach) Ime (Udoka) and knew we had to turn it up a notch.” Houston outscored the Grizzlies 25-11 in the 7:20 the two wings played together in the second half.