The San Antonio Spurs Have a De'Aaron Fox Problem

If there's any player whose stock dropped the most during the NBA Finals, it was De'Aaron Fox on the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs' starting point guard did not have a good Finals run, and he is one of the reasons the Spurs coughed up a golden opportunity to capture the franchise's sixth NBA Championship. Instead, the New York Knicks beat the Spurs 4-1 in the Finals to win their third NBA Championship, and their first since 1973. Fox's poor play was a big catalyst for why the Spurs lost the series. In Game 4, with the Spurs up 106-105 with 15 seconds left, Fox got the ball back following a Jalen Brunson missed shot, but instead of dribbling it out and waiting to be fouled, he inexplicably went for a lay-up that was blocked by OG Anunoby, who went on to score the game-winning tip-in on the other end of the court with 1.2 seconds left. Then, in Game 5, when the Spurs needed Fox the most, he played terribly, shooting 3-15 from the field with just 7 points in a must-win game. Fox's final NBA Finals numbers in five games: 12.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists on 34.3 FG% and 25 3P%. Clearly, not the numbers Fox or the Spurs were expecting. It's a big reason why Spurs fans are hoping the team can get rid of him this offseason. But his contract makes that difficult. Many Spurs fans are hoping their team can dump De'Aaron Fox's burdensome contract extension this offseason. De'Aaron Fox's Monster Contract Extension Kicks in Next Season At the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, Fox demanded a trade from the Sacramento Kings. Fox's agent, Rich Paul, chose the Spurs as his destination of choice, and the Spurs put together a package of draft picks and players to swing together a three-way trade with the Chicago Bulls and acquire Fox. Just a few months after getting Fox, the Spurs signed him to a four-year, $229 contract extension. The contract kicks in for next season. In Fox's first full season in San Antonio, he was an All-Star reserve for the Western Conference, and overall, he played well, scoring 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists as the Spurs won 62 regular-season games, coming in second place in the West. But in the playoffs, he did not live up to his standards, and he actively hurt the Spurs in the NBA Finals when things mattered most. That's why Spurs fans are hoping the team can trade him, which would open up more minutes for rookie sensation Dylan Harper, who we found out after the finals were over complained about his minutes to Spurs coach Mitch Johnson. That's a problem for the Spurs, as Harper is the team's future. Fox is not. But if the Spurs dumped Fox's contract, they could give Harper a starting role in the team's backcourt. Even though he had a bad Finals, and even though he's about to be paid roughly $60 million a year for the next four seasons, there could still be teams around the league that would want Fox -- depending on the price, of course. The Spurs are unlikely to recoup the draft capital they sent the Kings last year to acquire Fox in the first place, but they could swap out Fox for other players that they feel could be a superior fit around their superstar center, Victor Wembanyama. One popular trade idea is a potential swap between two of the Western Conference's powers, the Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves. In exchange for Fox, the Timberwolves could send San Antonio a package of power forward Julius Randle and guard Donte DiVincenzo, who is expected to miss most of next season with a ruptured Achilles' tendon. Since DiVincenzo will be out for most of next year, his inclusion is essentially just to make the salary cap work, with Randle being the main piece going back to San Antonio. Randle has roughly two years and $70 million left on his deal, so the Spurs might have to send the Timberwolves some draft capital due to the salary discrepancy between him and Fox. But if the Spurs think that Randle could be a good fit in their frontcourt next to Wembanyama, then this is a trade idea that has legitimate legs. The Spurs could also try to rid themselves of Fox's contract entirely by trading him to a team with salary cap space like the Brooklyn Nets or the Chicago Bulls, especially if those teams miss out on signing Austin Reaves in the offseason. The Los Angeles Lakers, too, could be a fit, since they could have the cap space to take on Fox. But with Luka Doncic already making $60 million in the Lakers' backcourt, they may not want to invest that much money in their guards. We'll see where this summer takes us, and if the Spurs are ultimately able to move off Fox's contract, or if they are stuck with it. But after an awful Finals performance, they have to shop him and see what the market is, at the very least. Whether they are ultimately able to trade him, though, is up in the air.