Josh Hart Calls Jose Alvarado ‘Broke Boy’ After Knicks Finals Berth: It’s All Love, Mostly
Josh Hart will troll anyone, including the guy who just helped him win the Eastern Conference Finals.
Hours after the Knicks closed out the Cavaliers in a Game 4 sweep, Hart posted a photo of teammate Jose Alvarado holding the Bob Cousy Trophy on his Instagram Stories. The caption: “Changed this broke boys life.”
This is Hart in a nutshell. He is one of the best teammates in the NBA, and he also cannot help roasting everyone in his locker room every chance he gets.
The Trade That Saved Alvarado’s Career
Hart has a point, even if the framing is brutal. Alvarado spent his first four-plus years in the league with the New Orleans Pelicans, where he was a fan favorite role player but never got close to a real playoff run. New Orleans was always either too injured or too disorganized to matter.
That changed in February when the Pelicans traded Alvarado and Latavious Williams to the Knicks for Dalen Terry, cash, and a couple of future second-round picks. New York was buying. New Orleans was selling. Alvarado was the player who needed the new scenery the most.
Three months later, the former Georgia Tech standout is heading to the NBA Finals. He has been a real contributor as an energy guard off the bench, with that signature pickpocket defense and a Knicks crowd that has fully adopted him.
Hart’s Trolling Comes From Real Love
This is the same Josh Hart who goosed Jalen Brunson after the NBA Cup win. The same Josh Hart who chirps at his own teammates in postgame pressers. The same Josh Hart who has built an entire personal brand around being the most chaotic good guy in the league.
Alvarado knows this. He is friends with Hart. He is laughing about it as much as anyone else. The “broke boy” line is not a real insult. It is Hart’s way of saying he is happy for his teammate without actually saying anything sincere.
Bigger Stakes in the Finals
The Knicks are now four wins from their first NBA title since 1973. Alvarado’s role will not be huge, but his ability to come in cold and provide ten minutes of defensive pressure could matter in a tight series. He proved against the Cavs that the moment does not bother him.
If New York wins the title, Alvarado is going to get a championship ring on the back of a trade that originally looked like salary dump material. That is the kind of career arc that makes the NBA fun. From New Orleans afterthought to NBA champion in 12 months.
Josh Hart will probably call him a broke boy on the trophy stand. And Alvarado will be too happy to care.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
