A Fox, a paradigm shift, and a signal to all it's time to win

By acquiring De'Aaron Fox and checking a major box in the rebuild plan, San Antonio has let it be known the future has finally become the present.

Courtesy of Spurs Sports & Entertainment

If the Spurs had their druthers, none of the initial De’Aaron Fox news would’ve made an appearance in the light. They could’ve done without Shams Charania ringing the cowbell and alerting the league the Kings were open to dealing the dynamic guard; they could’ve done without Rich Paul and Klutch Sports making their client’s preferences known; and they certainly could’ve done without all the follow-ups that dug into the details, whether true or not, and kept the fan base on edge. After all, it wasn’t as if San Antonio was unaware of the situation in Sacramento, or of the potential that Fox might have some interest in a new Texas home. It’d had an inkling for a while, it just didn’t need the rest of the world knowing.

But the Spurs couldn’t realistically expect things to unfold the way they have in the past, away from the rumor mill and the league sources that feed it. Victor Wembanyama is a lightning rod for attention, and the apple of agents’ eyes aiming to set up their guys with an optimal future. In the case of Paul and Fox, it was a heady play to jump the line and test the waters.

‘Here’s your chance, San Antonio. Right now. If you’re not going to do it, someone else will.’

The Spurs had been preparing to take advantage of a situation like this, however — if not with the Kings, then someone else around the league. Dating all the way back to the beginning of last season, they knew a star would eventually like a change of scenery, or to play with the league’s newest phenom, and they’d be ready for that eventuality with picks and contracts in hand whenever the right opportunity presented itself. It’s why San Antonio had been stockpiling as many assets as it could in the small window of time it had before the hype around Wembanyama transformed into reality, expectations skyrocketed, and the bidding wars began. Only now, with the volume turned up publicly, there was no more working in the shadows.

Had this thing stayed quiet around the deadline and pushed into the summertime, the Spurs would’ve had a better picture of their own situation, more space to operate, an easier transition from this roster iteration to the next, a better lay of the land and its other possible trade candidates, and a clearer vision of their draft board. Under normal circumstances, with a more typical No. 1 overall pick, perhaps they would’ve had more time to rebuild with everything laid out on a platter before them. Players don’t usually progress this quickly, let alone appear on MVP ladders as 21-year-olds. They’re not supposed to force a team’s hand halfway through their second season as a pro.

But as man plans, god laughs. And yet somehow, by the end of Sunday night, San Antonio was chuckling, too, as Brian Wright and his front-office cohorts completed their latest heist.

There was one major benefit to Fox’s camp listing the Spurs as the team he wanted to join: It gave them the leverage they needed to have a leg up on any other party who may have liked to get involved. If competing teams were unconvinced Fox would commit to them long-term, there was no way they’d get into a battle of assets with San Antonio and its war chest of picks. The Spurs knew this, and even in a pinch, they could stand firm in negotiations.

Sources indicated at the time — and it’s now clearer after the fact — San Antonio was adamant about not only keeping Stephon Castle out of negotiations, but as many pieces of its young core as it could given its position of leverage. While Fox is an upgrade over anyone else on the roster, the Spurs preferred not to acquire him as a replacement, but as an addition to their rebuild cache. They wanted to take a full step forward, not a half-step, and allow themselves to slide everyone else on the roster down one spot in the hierarchy where they more comfortably fit. (It should also be mentioned, however, holding on to their most valuable player assets gives them a better chance in any other potential trade negotiations in which they do not hold an advantageous leverage position, whether that’s now or during the summertime.)

On top of that, both the Atlanta Hawks’ first-round pick and and San Antonio’s own were essentially viewed as off-limits as it made its first big, non-Wemby move toward building a contender. The Spurs needed those picks now, not later, because the Victor revolution is no longer a future concept; and given the fact they have full, unprotected control of both selections, the Bulls’ top-10-protected pick was the easiest sacrifice ahead of this summer — an asset that’s likely to convey at some point in the next three years, but is a coin flip to do so for this draft cycle.

And while I don’t have much intel on where San Antonio stood on the 2028 Boston Celtics’ first-round swap, the Dallas Mavericks’ 2030 first-round swap, or the Kings’ own 2031 swap (all in the Spurs’ favor), they all seem like assets you’d like to hold. Given the climate of the league and its luxury-tax implications, who knows what happens in Boston over the next three years; the shocking trade of Luka Doncic on Saturday has created all sorts of uncertainty when it comes to the Mavs’ five-year plan; and Sacramento? Well, you just never know what’s gonna happen there from year to year, let alone six seasons from now.

But this all still needed to be worth it for Sacramento, a team faced with the unenviable task of trying to remain competitive after dealing arguably its best player, all while working at a leverage disadvantage. Enter the Bulls, who always seem to be game for a trade that only confuses the masses and gives no indication of what direction they’re choosing.

Zach LaVine, who’s been in trade rumors out of Chicago for years now, was the final piece that brought it all together for the three-team deal to work from both a talent and financial standpoint. The Kings got their Fox replacement in LaVine, along with Sidy Cissoko, Charlotte’s lottery-protected pick (via San Antonio, will convey as two second-rounders), the Spurs’ 2027 first-rounder, Minnesota’s 2031 pick swap (also via San Antonio), and a handful of second-round selections. The Bulls received Tre Jones, Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter, and their own 2025 first back from the Spurs. Yes, that’s it.

In total, San Antonio gave up four first-rounders and two seconds in acquiring Fox and Jordan McLaughlin, with the Minnesota 2031 pick perhaps being the most valuable. But it still owns eight first-round picks over the next seven years, as well as a bevy of second-rounders. So not only are the Spurs set to take off in the present, but their future is lined with reinforcements for Wembanyama’s prime years. San Antonio knows it isn’t simply a Fox away from title contention, and as the Vic train continues to gain steam, it understands how critical it will be to maintain optionality moving forward.

On the whole, negotiations were flawlessly executed by the Spurs. But these things never come without a price.

---

While the deal wasn’t finalized until Sunday, it was clear by the end of Saturday night there was a framework in place that would see Jones and Collins likely departing San Antonio (I did not know about Cissoko until the trade was announced, however). Sometimes word can spread when things are most quiet, and in the late-night hours following the Spurs’ 105-103 buzzer-beating loss to Miami, the silence in the Frost Bank Center was deafening, as were the emotions in certain corners.

This isn’t intended to sound melodramatic, because we knew this would happen eventually. It’s part of the deal with rebuilding teams, and working the trade market is a critical aspect of construction. But despite their ancillary status on the court, both Jones and Collins were major cogs in an uncommonly tightknit locker room and the larger San Antonio community in general, where their charity work was well-documented.

The trade deadline is never a pretty scene for happy teams, especially ones that are bound for change. These are not the Big-3-era Spurs of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, however — teams that knew they had their core in place, and roster continuity, not turnover, was the priority. This iteration of San Antonio has work to be done if it wants to return to its glory days, and unfortunately for most players on the roster, that means there will be some uncertainty surrounding their jobs. With two days still remaining until the deadline, they also know there’s still work being done, and some waiting time before any comfort can be found.

But this paradigm shift is what Spurs fans have waited years to see. In acquiring Fox — and in moving off some familiar faces — San Antonio has signaled its intentions. This is no longer a franchise preparing only for the future, but diving headfirst into the present as well. From here on out, and as long as Wembanyama is in town, any move the Spurs make will be done with title contention in mind.

It all begins Wednesday in Atlanta, when the new floor general set to help lead them toward this next phase will likely make his first appearance in a San Antonio uniform.

---

---