De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs
As soon as it was reported that the Sacramento Kings were suddenly open to the possibility of trading De'Aaron Fox ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline, the San Antonio Spurs emerged as a natural potential landing spot for the All-Star. As one of the young Western Conference teams on the rise, it would be practical for the Spurs to target Fox in a blockbuster deal ahead of the deadline. On paper, it makes a ton of sense for both Fox and the Spurs. The only question is whether the Spurs would want to be aggressive this early in their development. I'd lean yes, but you can never predict how that front office is going to operate.
If this was a deal that did happen at the deadline, it would certainly raise the ceiling for the Spurs heading into the second half of the year. For a team that is currently sitting outside the top 10 in the West standings, a spot in the postseason would very much be back in play for the team. If San Antonio were to make such a move, a Fox-Wemby duo could be the start of something special across the league.
What a trade may look like: With just one guaranteed year remaining on his contract, it's unlikely that we're going to see the three or four first-round pick offers that have become quite popular in superstar deals over the past couple of seasons. Instead, I do believe a team like the Spurs could get away from including one young player (perhaps Jeremy Sochan) and a couple of future first-round picks, along with an expiring salary that would help make the financial numbers work.
This seems like a fair deal all around for both the Spurs and Kings. San Antonio gets their long-term answer at the point guard position and a star player who is young enough to fit the Victor Wembanyama timeline while Sacramento is able to take a step back to evaluate what the next move is going to be for the franchise. Parting ways with two future first-round picks and a potentially impactful young player wouldn't be the worst compensation for a player that was probably going to end up leaving in a year anyway.