Knicks acquiring Jose Alvarado from Pelicans as McBride heads for surgery, AP source says

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks are acquiring guard Jose Alvarado from the New Orleans Pelicans, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The New York native should immediately step into a big role, as guard Deuce McBride is headed for surgery on a sports hernia and will be out an unknown amount of time, said the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because there were no announcements about the trade or McBride’s injury.

The Knicks will send the Pelicans two second-round picks and Dalen Terry, who they acquired in a separate deal with Chicago, for Alvarado. The 6-foot guard was born in Brooklyn and attended Christ the King High School.

Alvarado is averaging 7.9 points in 41 games, all off the bench. He scored a career-best 10.3 per game last season but is better known for his fierce competitiveness as a defender.

McBride has missed the last five games with what the Knicks said was left ankle injury management. While having the ankle evaluated, McBride also was checked for other ailments he’d been dealing with that hadn’t caused him to miss any time, the person said. That’s when the hernia was discovered.

The injury was first reported by The Athletic.

McBride has averaged 12.9 points in 35 games, including 14 starts. He is shooting 42% from 3-point range.

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