The San Antonio Spurs added De’Aaron Fox in early February, but he hasn’t been able to get a feel for his new team.
On March 2, the San Antonio Spurs played their first real home game since Feb. 1, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder 146-132. Each year, the Texas Rodeo takes over San Antonio, with events being held at the Frost Bank Center, so the Silver and Black take an extended break from home on the annual Rodeo Road Trip.
This year, the Spurs did get two “home” games, playing at the Moody Center in Austin, but they were still living out of suitcases and in hotel rooms.
For trade deadline target De’Aaron Fox, the Rodeo Road Trip was especially tough. He made his Spurs debut on Feb. 5 in Atlanta, but before that, the Sacramento Kings were on a five-game trip of their own.
As a result of the constant travel, Fox hasn’t had a chance to practice with his new team and was quickly thrown into the fire, explaining why his scoring, shooting, rebounding, and defensive stats are all worse on his new team.
When the Spurs traded for Fox, they expected him to immediately become Victor Wembanyama’s running mate. Instead, Wemby was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and has been ruled out for the season, making the under-experienced Fox the focal point of the offense, with mixed results.
With Fox in the lineup without Wembanyama, the Spurs are only 2-5, although they expect to improve.
“We had our first practice two days ago with him. This is his first home game, so to think that there wouldn’t be a ton of evolution would be silly on our part,” said acting head coach Mitch Johnson. “I think with us, we have an identity and a style of play that we’re trying to grow, and we’ve been trying to grow. When you add a player of that caliber, to think that that’s not going to take time, right, you look at any of these top teams around the league, there’s continuity is a big word that doesn’t get discussed enough, and that’s something that we are early in the stages for different reasons in the earliest stage with him, but there’s some exciting potential to see on the way.”
As Fox finds his footing, both he and rookie Stephon Castle seem to be growing together, which is critical for the Spurs’ long-term success.
Fox and his wife, who hails from San Antonio, have been unable to make any sort of home in his new city. There has been no settling in, and he hadn’t even been to the Frost Bank Center as a player until March 2, in his very first game.
He has been unable to practice, which limits both his familiarity with the playbook and his chemistry with his teammates, which, as a point guard, is incredibly important.
“I hadn’t had a home game in a home arena since January 22nd,” pointed out Fox.
“This was my first time. So it was definitely good to do this and be able to get that first one under your belt. Obviously, we wish that we came out with a win.”
With their next five games coming up against the Brooklyn Nets, Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Dallas Mavericks (twice), the Spurs should be able to pick up some wins and continue to build on their newest foundational piece now that he’s been formally welcomed to San Antonio.
