The San Antonio Spurs have become one of the surprise stories in the NBA this season, boasting a 15-13 record and positioning themselves as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference.
On the back of their 2023-24 Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio’s wonderful core of veterans and young prospects like No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft Stephon Castle has come away victorious against some of the conference’s best competition, like the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors.
Trying to capitalize on their accelerated timeline of success, recent reports have indicated that San Antonio could be active in the trade market in order to acquire a former All-NBA guard and Clutch Player of the Year winner, De’Aaron Fox.
“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,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Anthony Slater wrote Saturday.
“Barring a significant Kings turnaround, others are surely close behind.”
This season, Fox is contributing 26.2 points, 6.2 assists and 1.6 steals for an underwhelming Kings team sporting a 13-17 record through 30 games.
In the midst of Sacramento’s down season, real concerns have begun to circulate that Fox could decline a contract extension offer from the franchise because of his desire to be part of a competitive team every season.
“Yet for all the focus on the financial aspects of his contract decision — he can qualify for a five-year, $345-million supermax deal if he earns an All-NBA selection — his holistic view of it all has never been more clear. Annual contention is the aim.”
With the potential of Sacramento wanting to get ahead of the curve and ship Fox out before he leaves in free agency for nothing, the Spurs could be the perfect partner in facilitating a trade for the explosive guard.
In a possible deal for Fox, San Antonio would likely need to throw in several of their most valued prospects, with names like Tre Jones, Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson and Malaki Branham presumed to have the highest chances of being involved.
San Antonio would also supply Sacramento with first-round draft compensation to assist in a possible rebuild after trading away their franchise’s most important figure since his debut in 2017-18.
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