Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox pushes down the court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
Kyle Phillips/Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Relatively short-staffed, the Spurs walked into the FedEx Forum for a morning walkthrough before Monday’s game against Memphis hoping to keep everything as normal as possible.
It was difficult not to notice the faces who were not there.
Gone were Tre Jones, Zach Collins, and Sidy Cissoko, shipped out a night earlier in a trade the Spurs believe will reshape their identity going forward.
Article continues below this ad
En route is De’Aaron Fox, the All-Star caliber point guard obtained from Sacramento who the Spurs envision to be Victor Wembanyama’s pick-and-roll running mate for seasons to come.
For the Spurs players who remained to face the Grizzlies, Monday brought an odd alchemy of anticipation and wistfulness.
“I’m super excited,” guard Devin Vassell said. “Obviously we got better adding Fox. We probably got 10 times better. But those are my brothers, Sidy, Zach and TJ, people I’ve known for a good while now. We’re definitely going to miss them.”
In a blockbuster move that had been weeks if not months in the making, the Spurs agreed to a three-team deal late Sunday to bring in Fox, one of the NBA’s most explosive point guards.
Article continues below this ad
The Kings received All-Star guard Zach Lavine from Chicago and Cissoko from the Spurs as well as three first-round picks – Charlotte’s 2025, the Spurs’ 2027 and Minnesota’s 2031. Sacramento also netted three second-round picks – 2025 from Chicago, 2028 from Denver and 2025 from the Spurs.
Collins and Jones went to Chicago along with Sacramento’s Kevin Huerter. The Bulls received their own previously traded 2025 first-round pick back from the Spurs.
The Spurs also came away with backup point guard Jordan McLaughlin from Sacramento.
For the Spurs, the upside of the trade is clear: In Fox, they added one of the league’s premiere scoring guards and did not have to give up any of their top eight core players to do it.
The Spurs likewise did not have to part with the portion of their stockpile of future picks deemed most valuable, the 2025 and 2027 first-rounders owed from Atlanta, as well as a 2026 pick swap with the Hawks.
Article continues below this ad
“Obviously the basketball part speaks for itself,” said Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, who stands to be reunited with Fox after spending the previous six seasons with him in Sacramento. “He’s an elite point guard, an elite player in this league.”
The move also came with a tacit thumbs up from the Spurs’ most important player.
Asked about Fox last week, when the trade was still simmering in the hot rumor stage, Wembanyama said he was a fan of the 27-year-old’s game.
“What I think of him as a player is, of course, that he’s a very good player,” the Spurs’ All-Star center said.
Article continues below this ad
Fox is in the throes of his eighth NBA season after the Kings selected him fifth overall in the 2017 draft.
One of the speediest players in the league, the 6-foot-3 Fox boasts career averages of 21.5 points, 6.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He has averaged at least 25 points and five assists in four of the past five seasons.
Fox’s best season came in 2022-23, when he averaged 25 point and 6.1 assists and helped the Kings snap a 16-season postseason drought.
For his efforts, Fox was named to the Western Conference All-Star team and earned third-team All-NBA honors. He was also tabbed the league’s “Clutch Player of the Year” that season.
“Any time you have a guy like him who has a lot of potential, and you see him realize that potential and do it on a nightly basis, it’s a great thing to see,” said Barnes, who had a front-row seat for Fox’s ascension in Sacramento. “And the best is yet to come from him. He’s still a young player.”
Article continues below this ad
Fox is under contract through the end of the 2025-26 campaign and is due to earn $37.1 million in the final season of the pact. After that, he is eligible to re-sign or extend his deal at a maximum price tag of four years and $229 million.
Even before Fox has set foot in the Spurs’ locker room, players and staffers are salivating at what he might bring to the team’s offense alongside Wembanyama.
With veteran point guard Chris Paul still on the roster, it will be interesting to see how the backcourt chemistry comes together.
“I think we’re going to play a lot faster,” Vassell said. “We’re going to play in transition a lot. It’s going to open up a lot. Fox and Wemby having a screen and roll, who do you stop between them two? Then you have me and certain shooters around that. Offensively it’s going to be exciting.”
Eric Gay/Associated Press
Ronald Cortes/Getty Images
Ronald Cortes/Getty Images
Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press
Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press
Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press
The Spurs don’t view Fox as merely a one-way player.
Throughout his career, the former Kentucky Wildcat has shown a willingness to play defense. Fox led the NBA in steals last season at 2.0 per game.
“Defensively, I think we’re going to get after it,” Vassell said. “I know Fox likes to pick up full court and change the pace of the game. It’s going to help us on both ends.”
In addition to what Fox will bring to the Spurs on the court, Barnes believes he will be a seamless addition to the team’s locker room culture.
“I think the basketball part will be fairly easy,” Barnes said. “More importantly, I think he’s a high-character individual. One of the things I was most impressed with when I got here in the summer, everybody here is high-character people. He fits that mold.”
Fox was scheduled for a physical in San Antonio on Monday. If all goes well, it is likely he will join the Spurs before Wednesday’s game in Atlanta.
Whether Fox would then make his Spurs debut against the Hawks or elsewhere on the rodeo road trip is still to be determined.
The Spurs are eager to get the Fox project started.
“Very soon,” Barnes said with a smile, “it’s going to all come together.”
