De'Aaron Fox to San Antonio Spurs: Exploring the best package to land star guard next to Victor Wembanyama
As trade season continues to roll along in the NBA, De'Aaron Fox is a new name that has popped up in the rumor mill. In the event the Sacramento Kings decide to move on from their star guard, the San Antonio Spurs are reportedly a team to watch.
Fox, 27, is in the midst of another All-Star-level season. Through 29 games, he is averaging 26.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.1 assists. For the Spurs, acquiring a player like Fox would give Victor Wembanyama a reliable running mate in the prime of his career.
With De'Aaron Fox earning $34.8 million, the Spurs will have to get creative with acquiring him. Any potential trade package would likely be centered around Keldon Johnson and Chris Paul. The Kings will still want to compete, and this could help them do so. Paul is on an expiring contract, giving them financial flexibility, and Johnson is an athletic forward on a rather team-friendly contract.
Along with Johnson and Paul, the Spurs are also going to have to add draft capital. Luckily for them, they have stockpiled assets from their previous moves. San Antonio currently owns four first-round picks in 2025 and three in 2026. Seeing that Fox is a star-level player in his prime, they'd likely have to pair at least two of these picks with Johnson and Paul to sweeten the deal.
Given that Wembanyama is already a dominant force in his second season, the Spurs could want to speed up their timeline. De'Aaron Fox certainly helps raise their ceiling in the short term, and they have the money to keep him around in free agency moving forward.
De'Aaron Fox's agent recently met with Kings leadership to discuss his future
Back in 2023, De'Aaron Fox helped the Sacramento Kings end the franchise's historically long playoff drought. They appeared to be heading on an upward trajectory from there, but things have not played out that way.
Last season, the Kings failed to make the playoffs and saw their win total drop from the year prior (48 to 46). Slightly passed the quarter mark of this season, things are still rocky. Despite bringing in another All-Star in DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento is in 12th place in the Western Conference with a 13-16 record.
As the Kings continue to struggle, De'Aaron Fox's future with the franchise seems a bit hazy. Reports recently surfaced that his agent Rich Paul recently met with the Kings' higher-ups to discuss the guard's future with the franchise.
"League sources say Paul was in Sacramento to meet with general manager Monte McNair and assistant general manager Wes Wilcox before the game.
The discussion, league and team sources said, was focused on an existential question that needs to be answered if this partnership that began eight seasons ago between Fox and the Kings is going to continue long term."
De'Aaron Fox turned down a contract extension over the summer in hopes of landing a more lucrative deal this coming offseason. Now that the Kings have sputtered, things could be going in a different direction.
If the Kings start listening to offers for Fox, the two-way guard will surely garner a lot of interest around the league.