Why Don’t the Timberwolves Trade for Pelicans’ Jose Alvarado?

This series of articles takes five shots at predicting trades that will go down at the 2025-26 NBA trade deadline. The third one addresses the Timberwolves’ lack of point guard depth by making a low-cost player swap with the Pelicans.

Pelicans Get:

Terrence Shannon Jr.

Joe Ingles

2026 MIN 2nd

Timberwolves Get:

Jose Alvarado

Why Trading for Jose Alvarado Makes Sense for the Timberwolves

For a team trying to add any extra juice they can in anticipation of what is going to be another daunting Western Conference playoff run, Jose Alvarado is the Energizer bunny doused in Red Bull that could make a real difference in Minnesota.

It’s no secret that the Timberwolves have been seeking depth at the point guard position. It’s also no secret that their roster is already very expensive, and their draft capital is meager. That’s why Jake Fischer reported that Minnesota is looking for “mid-tier-salaried options” in trade discussions.

Alvarado would likely be described as a low-tier option by most. While he may not enhance the Timberwolves into contenders in the eyes of pundits or redefine their odds on spreadsheets, he will bring a tenacious spirit that the Minnesota basketball team and its fans adore.

For any reassurance of Alvarado’s bravado, just go rewatch the Pelicans’ 2024 playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

Alvarado has spent each of his five seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans; he’s likely ready to try a functional franchise on for size. His career numbers might be modest thus far, but the Timberwolves won’t need or expect much out of him. Just one more solid option at point guard would help ease Mike Conley’s role, and would make Bones Hyland that much less critical to the equation.

Why Trading Away Jose Alvarado Makes Sense for New Orleans

If the Pelicans want whatever it is they’re doing to work, it appears that hinges on all of the pieces they have on the roster working together — including Dejounte Murray.

In part because he likely won’t return to the court this season, the Pelicans aren’t going to be able to trade Murray anywhere anytime soon. The Pelicans should include him in the mix to start next year, which would make for a backcourt (for better or for worse) of Murray, Jordan Poole and Jeremiah Fears.

With Bryce McGowens and Jordan Hawkins lingering as well, there appears to be one too many undersized guards hanging around. Alvarado likely holds more value on the trade market currently than the rest of them (besides Fears).

Still, that won’t be much. That’s why the crux of the return would be Terrence Shannon Jr., who has shown flashes of real promise, a lot of which, though, he has squandered. Shannon Jr. is currently dealing with a hard-to-diagnose injury in his foot, making his reliability for a playoff run difficult to judge. 

New Orleans could let Shannon Jr. recover, trade out Alvarado to make room for their younger guards, and add a second-round pick for next year; it wouldn’t hurt for the Pelicans to have few more draft selections in 2026 after the puzzling trade that went down before the 2025 draft.

Why This Trade Won’t Happen

Terrence Shannon Jr. really has shown brief flashes of brilliance, most notably in the Western Conference Finals against the champion Oklahoma City Thunder last postseason. That sort of promise is hard to let go of, especially for a player of the age and pedigree of Alvarado.

While New Orleans does have three guards that, again, for better or for worse, need minutes next season, McGowens and Hawkins cannot be trusted at all yet to shore up the fourth guard spot. 

New Orleans has also cherished the hard-nosed style of play of Alvarado. Shipping him out for very little would likely diminish even more of the little trust Joe Dumars has going for him.