One of the first dominos of the Knicks’ offseason now has clarity.
Jose Alvarado declined his $4.5 million player option for next season and intends to sign a three-year deal worth roughly $15 million, The Post confirmed.
The exact breakdown of the deal was not immediately clear, since no contracts can be made official until July 6, but it likely keeps him in line with the $4.5 million value for the 2026-27 season and increasing in the subsequent two seasons.
That is crucial because the Knicks are operating in accordance to owner James Dolan’s wishes to stay below the second apron next season and have a tight budget in order to do so.
“I’m home,” Alvarado posted on X, along with blue and orange hearts.
Jose Alvarado reacts during the Knicks’ June 8 game. Charles Wenzelberg
Alvarado’s deadline for the decision was originally on Monday, but he and the Knicks agreed to push it back to Friday, after the NBA draft.
He emerged as a key bench piece for the Knicks’ championship run, providing the team with a true backup point guard they lacked before his arrival. He also added a bit of snarl and feistiness to a team that, at the time he was acquired, needed it.
They added him — after a series of moves that started with sending away Guerschon Yabusele — just ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
President Leon Rose recently praised Alvarado as one of his best under-the-radar moves in building the Knicks into champions.
“That was huge,” Rose said on the “Roommates Show” podcast, “because we did need another ball handler, we needed another person that could put it on the floor and take some of the pressure off.”
Alvarado’s playing time as a Knick varied, but by the postseason and NBA Finals, he was playing critical minutes. Alvarado memorably scored eight points and drilled two 3-pointers during the Knicks’ historic comeback in their 107-106 win in Game 4 of the Finals.
Alvarado, 28, also is a local kid, having been born in Brooklyn and playing high school basketball at Christ the King