Overview
- Alvarado, speaking on the podcast 7PM in Brooklyn, recounted his December on‑court fight with Suns center Mark Williams and said Shaquille O’Neal phoned to praise him and call the fine “chump change.”
- He described being shoved after a screen and said Williams threw the first punch, a sequence that ended with both players ejected and NBA suspensions of two games for Alvarado and one for Williams.
- Alvarado said the penalties cost him real money, estimating around $36,000, and he joked to O’Neal that “it’s a different payroll” for non‑stars as he and his family tightened their budget.
- Now with the Knicks after a February trade, Alvarado is expected to bring perimeter defense and energy in New York’s first‑round series against the Hawks.
- The discussion spotlights a wider league reality where suspensions dock per‑game pay, so discipline that a star can brush off can hit rotation players much harder.