What Would Houston Have to Give Up in a Trade for Jose Alvarado?

With reports of the Rockets taking interest in New Orleans guard, Jose Alvarado, let’s consider what a trade would look like on the financial side of things. 

Alvarado is making $4.5 million this season, with a player option to earn another $4.5 million next season. A very team friendly contract, considering Houston probably isn’t looking to trade any big salaries. 

This means the multiple players with $2.2 million salaries could potentially be on the move. That includes Jae’Sean Tate, Aaron Holiday, Josh Okogie, and Jeff Green. 

In order to match Alvarado’s salary, Houston would have to move any two of those previously mentioned players. Whether or not New Orleans would want those guys is a different conversation. 

This can weirdly work in the Rockets’ favor though, as New Orleans would be over the maximum 15 standard roster spots, and ultimately have to waive one of the incoming players, or another player on their roster. 

In this scenario, Houston would also be below the 14 required players on a roster, meaning they’d have an extra spot to fill with any free agents. 

A more straightforward trade would be swapping Tari Eason’s $5.6 million dollar directly for Jose Alvarado. This is still legal under the newest CBA rules. 

It’s hard to predict what New Orleans would want, as apparently wings Herb Jones and Trey Murphy are untouchable —— but these are the players who’d likely be included if Houston were to acquire Alvarado.