All-Star Sacramento Kings point guard De'Aaron Fox is the latest marquee name to seriously enter the chat, with about a month-and-a-half remaining until the NBA's Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Prior to the start of the 2024-25 season, the Kentucky product refused to ink a three-year, $165 million contract extension tendered the only NBA squad he's ever known, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
Fox was selected with the fifth pick in a stacked 2017 NBA Draft, alongside fellow future All-Stars Jayson Tatum (the No. 3 pick), Lauri Markkanen (No. 7), Donovan Mitchell (No. 13), and Fox's fellow ex-Wildcat Bam Adebayo (No. 14).
Since then, he's evolved into one of the league's best young point guards. While appearing in all 29 bouts for the 13-16 Kings this year, Fox is averaging a Kings-most 26.3 points on .487/.333/.809 shooting splits, plus 6.1 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals a night.
Alongside All-Star center Domantas Sabonis and Coach of the Year Mike Brown, Fox helped Sacramento break a 16-year playoff drought in 2023. That season, the Kings finished with a 48-34 record, good for the third seed in the Western Conference, before falling to the Golden State Warriors in a hotly contested first-round series.
Last year, they regressed a bit, finishing as the West's No. 9 seed with a 46-36 overall record. Though they bested the Warriors again, this time in a play-in tournament meeting, the Kings fell to the New Orleans Pelicans in their battle for the eighth seed and missed the playoffs once again.
Now, the 13-17 Kings are hovering outside of even the play-in conversation. The club is currently the No. 12 seed in the conference, 2.5 spots behind the 14-13 Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns, the Nos. 10 and 11 seeds. Sacramento has been hampered a bit by the addition of six-time All-Star small forward DeMar DeRozan, who plays at a more deliberate pace than the rest of the team. The Kings also struggle to contain athletic guards and wings.
During a recent conversation with Warriors All-Defensive power forward Draymond Green and former two-time All-Star point guard Baron Davis on their podcast "The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis," Fox explained his decision. Essentially, he issued a challenge to management to prove to him the club was serious about improving.
"It has all to do with just the team, the organization," Fox told them. "Where are we going? I want to make sure that we're in a position to try to win in the future because that's ultimately what I want to do. I know I'll make enough money regardless of where I play or what I do, I'm going to be fine. God forbid, knock on wood, you have a career-ending injury. But aside from that, I feel like I'm continuing to get better as a player every year."
Fox went on to unpack his desire for Sacramento to advance to the next level of contention, something the club's current iteration doesn't seem capable of doing.
"But for me, it's: Are we looking like we're continuing to get better year after year and are we going to be able to compete at a high level? ... If we can show that this year, you sign an extension now," Fox said. "If not, obviously I still have another year, but that's where my mindset is. At some point, will we be able to compete for a championship or really compete at a high level for a long time? That's where I'm at."
Per The Athletic's Sam Amick and Anthony Slater, Fox's agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports spoke on Thursday with team general manager Monte McNair and assistant GM Wes Wilcox to discuss his future with Sacramento. He has not yet requested a trade, but Fox and Paul are trying to take stock of the Kings' plans for him and the team at large.
Now, at least one team is eyeing a trade to acquire his services. They number among the three clubs that could be best served trying to accommodate Fox — and give him what he wants: semi-contention.
San Antonio Spurs
Sources inform Amick and Slater that the San Antonio Spurs are hoping to make a bid on Fox's services if he starts being floated. At 15-13, the club is currently the West's ninth seed already and sports a burgeoning superstar center in 21-year-old All-Defensive First Team phenom Victor Wembanyama.
Through his first 23 games, the 7-foot-3 big man is averaging 24.7 points on .478/.349/.875 shooting splits, 10.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, a league-most 3.8 blocks, and 1.1 steals a night. Former 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul is not his peak self, but he's still been the best lead playmaker who's ever fed Wembanyama a lob.
Fox would add a major scoring punch to the proceedings, and help kick the club's rebuild into high gear. The 27-year-old could be an excellent fit alongside Wembanyama, forwards Jeremy Sochan and Keldon Johnson, and shooting guard Devin Vassell. The contracts of Paul and oft-hurt Zach Collins (who is — you guessed it — hurt again) make sense as trade fits, as does the deal of exciting young rookie point guard Stephon Castle. If the Spurs want to go all-in on a win-now future while helping Sacramento begin its rebuild, moving Castle makes sense if there's not a long-term path toward him starting in San Antonio. The Spurs would also need to throw in a decent amount of future draft equity in any deal.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have long been rumored to have an interest in acquiring a third star, next to aging All-NBA frontcourt standouts LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Fox could serve not only as a win-now figure in Tinseltown but also as a bridge All-Star. He'll presumably remain at this level longer than the 39-year-old James or the 31-year-old Davis, and when their contracts eventually come off L.A.'s books the team can use Fox's upside to entice future free agents. Adding him would at least boost the club's potential in the Western Conference, although the Lakers would presumably need to figure out a way to address their biggest remaining issue — wing defense — with another move. That's hardly an area of strength for the Kings.
Trade-wise, what would matter most to Sacramento would be obtaining both of L.A.'s movable future first-round picks, in 2029 and 2031. But the Kings would obviously make a push for useful, young-ish players. An ideal framework for Los Angeles would be baking some protections to both firsts and shipping out the expiring contracts of point guard D'Angelo Russell, center/power forward Christian Wood, and guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, plus the deal of defense-first reserve point guard Gabe Vincent. They could throw in a second round or two to sweeten the pot.
The Kings might counter, and try to swap out Vincent for L.A.'s current third-best player, combo guard Austin Reaves, in a transaction. The Lakers could then realistically demand to hold onto at least one future first-round draft pick.
Alternately, a deal for Russell's money and talented but inconsistent young guard Rui Hachimura, plus the two first-rounders and a second or two, could be a nice middle ground.
Sacramento may try to hold out for more than just two first-round picks and a few second-rounders for a Fox-level talent, however.
Miami Heat
The 13-13 Heat have been mired in trade chatter a lot themselves this year, but have been more oriented towards figuring out the fate of six-time All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler. For the first time, Miami is reportedly open to listening to rival trade proposals to acquire the 35-year-old standout, still an elite two-way player.
Read more: Top Five Landing Spots for Heat Star Jimmy Butler Amid Trade Rumors
Butler, no doubt keenly aware of his NBA mortality in his 14th pro season, appears to appreciate that the Heat's roster as currently constructed can't return to the NBA Finals, where he and All-Star center Bam Adebayo led them in 2020 and 2023. Miami came up empty in each instance. Still, beyond the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Eastern Conference is wide open. Even with just a .500 record, Miami is the fifth seed.
What if the Heat want to push some chips into the table, and make one last bid to win it all with Butler and Adebayo?
Bringing in an elite scoring ball handler in his prime could help shore up Miami's backcourt. Shooting guard Tyler Herro is enjoying a career season for the Heat, but he's not enough to save the day alone. A core of Fox, Butler, and Adebayo, perhaps accented by Herro (although he could just as easily be offloaded as part of a trade) and swingman Duncan Robinson, would be a tough playoff out for anyone — yes, even the reigning champion Celtics.
Like the hypothetical Spurs deal that would include Castle, one agreement that could satisfy both sides — and limit how much outgoing future draft equity Miami needs to include — would include 2024 All-Rookie First Team small forward Jaime Jaquez's rookie-scale contract, along with the expiring deal of underwhelming point guard Terry Rozier and the contract of reserve forward Haywood Highsmith.
More news: DeMar DeRozan Reveals Other Teams He Considered Joining As Free Agent
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