De'Aaron Fox will be traded but not to the San Antonio Spurs
Over the last week, one of the bigger storylines that have dominated the NBA has revolved around the Sacramento Kings coming around to the idea of prematurely trading De'Aaron Fox before he can leave for nothing during the 2026 NBA offseason in free agency. Fox hasn't necessarily demanded a trade away from the Kings but it does appear that he's let them know, one way or another, that he probably doesn't plan on signing a contract extension with them - and that he's likely leaving in free agency, whether he's traded or not.
By giving them the heads up, the Kings now have the opportunity to trade Fox if they want. Right now, the ball is clearly in their court. How they will end up handling this is anyone's guess. However, the first step is probably being open to listening to trade offers for Fox ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. Despite the rumors, I don't believe this means that the Kings are 100 percent going to trade Fox ahead of the deadline. Could they? Absolutely. However, I also believe there's a chance they could allow this to linger into the offseason. That said, one risk of that is Fox's trade value is likely going to shrink with every passing day.
With only one year remaining on his contract after this season, and with the threat of free agency on the table, the Kings are only going to put themselves in a lesser position when it comes to leverage on the asking price as they continue to wait on a deal. That's why I do predict the Kings will end up pulling the trigger on a trade before the deadine. But, it won't be to the San Antonio Spurs. Instead, I predict that there's another team that will step up with a godfather offer for Fox.
There are other teams than the Spurs that have a plethora of future first-round picks and young talent that they could use in a trade for Fox. Eventually, the Kings were going to have to make a decision on Fox. Even though it's going to be difficult to part ways with him, I do believe this is a necessary move for Sacramento. In the end, I believe the Rockets will show more urgency to get a deal done than San Antonio.