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A slow start to this season for the Sacramento Kings has turned the focus to De’Aaron Fox’s long-term future with the organization just two years after he led them to their best season in more than a decade.
Per The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Anthony Slater, people around the NBA are keeping an eye on the San Antonio Spurs as a potential landing spot for Fox if he were to become available via trade in the near-future.
“Meanwhile, rival executives are monitoring the Fox situation closely and league sources say one team in particular — the San Antonio Spurs — is positioning itself to pursue the Houston native as a possible partner for Victor Wembanyama, should Fox become available,” Slater and Amick wrote. “Barring a significant Kings turnaround, others are surely close behind.”
Fox and the Kings could be nearing a tipping point. He has one more year remaining on his contract after opting not to sign a three-year, $165 million extension during the offseason.
There are financial benefits for Fox by waiting to sign a new deal. He will be eligible for a four-year, $229 million extension next summer that could turn into a five-year, $345 million deal if he makes the All-NBA team this season.
Fox also told Amick and Slater before the start of the regular season that, while he “would love” to spend his entire career in Sacramento, he wants to make sure the organization is committed to “competing at a high level” instead of “just fighting for a playoff spot” year after year.
If that’s the barometer Fox is using, the Kings are not trending in the right direction. They made the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference two years ago, losing a thrilling seven-game series to the Golden State Warriors in the first round.
That seemed like it was going to be the start of an upward trajectory for the Kings. Instead, they missed the playoffs last season despite a 46-36 record by losing to the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament.
The Kings are currently 12th in the West with a 13-15 record. Fox is doing his part to help the team with 26.2 points per game, eighth-best in the NBA. He’s also averaging 6.1 assists and a career-high 5.0 rebounds per game in 28 starts.
San Antonio is a sleeping giant in the trade market because Victor Wembanyama seems like a player who a young, established star will want to play with. It also helps that the Spurs have 12 first-round draft picks between 2025 and 2031 that can be used to build a trade package around.
The Spurs opted not to make a win-now move last offseason, instead choosing smaller moves like adding Chris Paul for marginal upgrades around Wembanyama. They are hovering around the play-in mix with a 14-13 record.
