NBA: Former All-Star De’Aaron Fox Traded To Spurs In Three-Way Deal

The move between San Antonio, Sacramento, and Chicago involved seven draft picks and seven players, sources said.

Former Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox drives to the basket with a ball in his hands.

Sacramento Kings All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox was traded to the San Antonio Spurs as part of a three-team deal that will also see two-time All-Star Zach LaVine sent to the Kings and three players shipped to the Chicago Bulls.

The details of the trade, which ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported, are as follows:

The San Antonio Spurs will receive:

  • De’Aaron Fox
  • Jordan McLaughlin

 

The Sacramento Kings will receive:

  • Zach LaVine
  • Sidy Cissoko
  • A 2025 first-round pick from the Charlotte Hornets
  • A 2027 first-round pick from the Spurs
  • A 2031 first-round pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves
  • A 2025 second-round pick from the Denver Nuggets
  • A 2028 second-round pick from the Bulls
  • And their own 2028 second-round pick which had previously been traded away

 

The Chicago Bulls will receive:

  • Zach Collins
  • Tre Jones
  • Kevin Huerter
  • And their own 2025 1st-round pick back from the Spurs

How does this trade change the landscape of the NBA?

This was one of the busiest trade weekends in NBA history. Normally, this De’Aaron Fox trade would take precedence over any other moves made in the Association, but the sports world is still dealing with the fallout from the Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis deal that was made between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks.

With the NBA trade deadline set to expire at 3:00 p.m. ET on February 6th, 2025, there probably won’t be another move as big as this one. That means we can actually look at how each team improved or regressed folllowing this trade.

The Spurs are now a playoff team

It has been a rocky five-year stretch for San Antonio, who has failed to make the playoffs since 2019 after reaching the postseason 22 straight times. Following back-to-back 22-60 campaigns, the Spurs look poised to break the schneid this year with the signings of 12-time All-Star Chris Paul and former NBA Champion Harrison Barnes this past off-season.

The Spurs will almost undoubtedly improve on their record with 21 wins through their first 46 matchups, but winning more than 22 games isn’t good enough for a franchise led by future Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich. Currently just two games out of the play-in tournament, San Antonio is slated to have a huge second half of the year with two of the 20 most prolific scorers in the league in Fox and 21-year-old center Victor Wembanyama.

In the NBA, it doesn’t take much to reach the playoffs. You usually need cohesiveness and roster consistency, but star power is also critical. The Spurs had a star in Wembanyama, but with the addition of Fox, they have a dynamic duo as good as any in the NBA. I’m not saying that Fox and Wembanyama are the 2024-25 version of Shaq and Kobe, but this is a clear roster upgrade for a team that has failed to finish with a winning record for five straight years.

Fox’s assist numbers are not as good as Chris Paul’s, but he makes up for that by scoring 15.5 more points per game. That kind of production will be essential in the late-season push as San Antonio aims to end its postseason drought. Fox and Wembanyama will have to develop chemistry quickly, but Fox’s presence should transform the Spurs from a bottom-feeder into a playoff contender.

Are the Kings any better?

There is an argument to be made that Sacramento is better off following this trade. The team sacrificed a difference of one point per game (24.0 ppg for LaVine vs. 25.0 ppg for Fox) to basically acquire six draft picks, including three first-rounders.

It’s also worth noting that Zach LaVine might end up being a better fit right now for the Kings than Fox, who already appeared to have one foot out the door before this trade was made. After all, LaVine is top 25 this year in three-point percentage (fifth) and three-pointers made per game (16th). That offensive output will provide some much-needed balance to the Kings, who are 24th in three-point percentage and 22nd in threes made per game.

I don’t expect Sacramento to win the NBA Finals anytime soon, but they will be a tough out for any team if they even make it to the playoffs. LaVine already has chemistry with starting forward DeMar DeRozan thanks to their playing time together in Chicago. Meanwhile, center Domantis Sabonis is a double-double machine with a league-leading 14.4 rebounds per game. Malik Monk and Keegan Murray round out the starting five with 30 combined points per game. That is a formidable lineup that will give teams fits.

If Sacramento had not traded away Fox, then there was a chance he would’ve signed with another team this coming off-season, leaving the Kings high-and-dry next year. With this move, they get back a good player in Zach LaVine and a ton of draft capital that can be used to spark another potential trip to the postseason.

The Bulls finally have a direction

Chicago has been treading water in recent years after making the playoffs in 2022. They thought they could build on that success, but they have only continued to trend downward after finishing the last two seasons with losing records. This trade shows the Bulls are embracing the tank and moving on from their current core of players. That’s the only way to interpret this move because franchises with high expectations don’t trade away their leading scorers for three rotational pieces and a draft pick.

Chicago has been trying to move on from some of their key pieces for a while. It started in the off-season when they traded away DeMar DeRozan. After that, the Bulls needed to find a way to unload Zach LaVine’s contract which will pay him almost $138 million over the next three years. Moving on from LaVine was clearly motivated by finances.

Trading LaVine frees up a ton of cap space while bringing back meaningful contributors in Kevin Huerter, Zach Collins, and Tre Jones. In all likelihood, those three players will probably be used to acquire more draft capital. But if they aren’t traded away, then Collins, Jones, and Huerter can at least provide valuable minutes off the bench.

The Bulls are now in full-on tank mode which is necessary because Chicago will actually be one of the league’s worst teams and a shot at a high draft choice rather than having to settle for a pick outside of the top ten for a second straight year. If the Bulls make some more trades and pick up more draft capital, then they could have a chance at winning the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery and landing Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, a 6’9″ guard who is averaging 20 points per game. If Chicago wins the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, then the pain of the last few years will have all been worth it.

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