{"id":174424,"date":"2026-01-25T12:42:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T17:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=174424"},"modified":"2026-01-25T12:42:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T17:42:29","slug":"rockets-to-acquire-fiba-mvp-jose-alvarado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/01\/25\/rockets-to-acquire-fiba-mvp-jose-alvarado\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockets To Acquire MVP Point Guard"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON \u2014 The Rockets<\/a> are clinging to a top-four spot in the West despite key injuries. Their 27-16 record reflects the culture Coach Ime Udoka has instilled. The Rockets need a backup point guard and appear to have found a suitable target in Jose Alvarado.<\/a><\/p>\n

Rockets To Acquire MVP Jose Alvarado\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Offensive Identity and Growing Pains<\/h3>\n
\"Rockets
Oct 14, 2025; Birmingham, Alabama, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado (15) works against Houston Rockets center Steven Adams (12) during an NBA preseason game at Legacy Arena at BJCC. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Rockets own the league\u2019s fourth-best<\/a> offense. They shoot the three at an elite rate, ranked fifth. They attempt the second-fewest threes in the NBA. Houston made a bold decision. Houston runs their offense largely through Alperen Seng\u00fcn<\/a>. They also entrusted more responsibility to Amen Thompson<\/a> and Reed Sheppard<\/a>. Both have responded emphatically. The process, however, has not been without hiccups. To stay ahead of future bumps, the Rockets are linking themselves to former FIBA MVP Jose Alvarado.<\/p>\n

Why Alvarado Fits<\/h3>\n

Alvarado has built a reputation as one of the NBA\u2019s most disruptive defenders. He stands just six feet tall. He compensates with relentlessness and cunning. His sneaky full-court steals have become his trademark. They barely scratch the surface of his value. He earned MVP honors at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan. His impact translates everywhere. Puerto Rico clinched a Paris Olympics berth because of him.<\/p>\n

The Case for the Trade<\/h3>\n

Alvarado\u2019s net rating is four points<\/a> higher than his team\u2019s. That shows his impact despite New Orleans\u2019 struggles. He owns the lowest<\/a> defensive rating on the Pelicans. Per 36 minutes, he averages 12.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.6 steals. He disrupts offenses. Alvarado speeds up the pace. He brings energy that changes games.<\/p>\n

The Rockets could use Jose Alvarado off the bench. He would settle things down when younger players get carried away. He provides insurance for a season that Houston could seize. They need another point guard off the bench. Alvarado fits the bill.<\/p>\n

HOUSTON \u2014 The Rockets are clinging to a top-four spot in the West despite key injuries. Their 27-16 record reflects the culture Coach Ime Udoka has instilled. The Rockets need a backup point guard and appear to have found a suitable target in Jose Alvarado. Rockets To Acquire MVP Jose Alvarado\u00a0 Offensive Identity and Growing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":174432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,31,3,4721],"tags":[50244,3854,1052],"class_list":["post-174424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-rockets","category-news","category-trade-rumors","tag-2025-26-nba-season","tag-jose-alvarado","tag-olympics"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174424"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174433,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174424\/revisions\/174433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}