A native of Brooklyn Jose Alvarado became a fan favorite after being traded to Nix in February, but he gave up coaching Mike Brown rotation recently, with a third-year guard Tyler Kolek taking his place Christian Winfield of The New York Daily News writes in the article only for subscribers. Alvarado’s playing time is down to 10.4 minutes a night through five games this season, and he was used only in the final six minutes of Tuesday’s blowout win over Milwaukee. Kolek played 15 minutes, scoring 12 points and 4 assists.
“We’re going to go with whoever we’re going with until we feel like it’s time to go to the next guy,” Brown said after the game. “Again, it’s not anything negative right now for Jose or even Tyler with him out. They just have to be ready to play when their number is called, and they’re both trying to do that. … Tyler’s been playing some pretty good basketball right now. You know, we’ve put some games together and, you know, again, those guys are close.”
Alvarado received a new three-year, $14.4 million contract over the summer, but Kolek’s recent play has made him a top rotation option. He has 40 assists and just five turnovers this season, tied for the best in the NBA. In the last three games, Alvarado has only pitched at the end of a one-sided game, and he didn’t play at all Saturday in Cleveland. Brown admits Kolek became the primary backup point guard after Alvarado injured his ankle in the second game of the season.
“The reality is that Jose was injured. Tyler gave us some good minutes, but in the end I sat them both down and told them, ‘Jose, you’re our backup because you finished the season as a backup, but you both helped us win last year. Jose in the final. Tyler in the Cup Final.” Brown recalled. “So I feel like you both can play and contribute at a high level. So you both have to be ready because changes can happen at any time.”
There are more from New York:
- Illness prevented Josh Hart since returning Tuesday after missing the previous two games with a sore ankle, Per Stefan Bondi of The New York Post. Landry Shamet made his third straight appearance, and Brown is comfortable having him in that role. “With the way our team is built, we don’t need anybody to do anything extraordinary. Just go, like Landry said, be yourself, play hard.” – said Brown. “…Landry is phenomenal to have as a starter because he’s a two-way player. He needs to be guarded and he plays with tempo and a lot of other things that we believe in.”
- New Bucks coach Taylor Jenkins talked to reporters about interviews at the Knicks’ opener last year before Brown was hired, Bondy adds a separate story. He and Brown were considered the last contenders for the position. “Very happy to be where I am now” Jenkins said. “But really excited to go through the interview process with the Knicks. … I learned a lot about this organization, the high standards they had. And obviously the great job they did even before last season. So it was fun to be a part of that process. Hopefully I did well and it just wasn’t meant to be.”
- After Karl-Anthony Towns posted his 10th straight double-double on Tuesday, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic calls the Knicks owner James Dolan paying the All-Star center his market value, even if it puts the team on the second apron.