The San Antonio Spurs were reported to be De’Aaron Fox’s preferred trade destination, but the Spurs might do best to not make a move…yet.
On Tuesday, NBA reporters from around the league collectively issued a bombshell: De’Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings are working on a trade. On top of that, the All-Star point guard has named the San Antonio Spurs his preferred destination.
Playing next to Victor Wembanayma in San Antonio has quickly become a dream for plenty of players, and Fox is no exception.
However, while the Spurs would immediately become a playoff contender by adding Fox, they wouldn’t quite be able to compete with the top teams in the Western Conference to make the Finals, and there are two key reasons why the Spurs should hold back and not make a deal.
By trading for Fox, the Spurs would have to give up plenty of draft picks, matching salary, and likely either Devin Vassell or promising rookie Stephon Castle.
It’s clear that Fox would be an upgrade over either player, but still, losing a key cog of the young core would be a tough pill to swallow.
Luckily for the Silver and Black, Fox only has one full season left on his contract and can enter unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2026.
Reports from those close to Sacramento have suggested that as long as Wembanyama is healthy and productive, Fox won’t consider offers from other teams, paving a clear path for the Spurs to sign Fox with no hit to their asset pool, meaning they could use their future draft picks to trade for a third star.
At the top of the 2025 NBA Draft Class is Copper Flagg. The Duke standout is averaging 19.9 points and eight rebounds and brings high-level defense to the picture. While he is not generational like Wembanyama, he is a transformative player. The Spurs own their own pick and have an unprotected selection from the Atlanta Hawks, so they have non-negligible odds of landing Flagg.
If they miss out on the first overall pick, there is plenty of talent to be had in 2025. Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are leading the way, but Egor Demin, VJ Edgecombe, and Kasparas Jakučionis, among others, would make the addition of Fox completely unnecessary if they were to live up to the hype.
While adding Fox would be the safe move, the Spurs are only in the second season of the Wemby era and can afford to play things a bit risky, especially if the payoff is worth it.
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