Kings to open trade talks for De'Aaron Fox ahead of NBA deadline, reports say

Jason Anderson, The Sacramento Bee on Jan 28, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kings fans have waited anxiously for the team to make a move to bolster its roster for a playoff push. Instead, they were blindsided Tuesday by news that the team might trade away one of the best players in franchise history.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the Kings are expected to open talks for All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox ahead of the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline. The San Antonio Spurs have been rumored as a preferred destination for Fox with significant mutual interest from both sides, according to Forbes NBA reporter Evan Sidery.

Fox turned down a three-year, $165 million contract extension last summer in hopes of qualifying for a four-year, $229 million maximum extension or a five-year, $345 million supermax deal this summer. The thought of trading Fox started percolating as a real possibility after his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, came to Sacramento in December to meet with Kings general manager Monte McNair and assistant general manager Wes Wilcox.

There was no formal trade request made at that time, but Paul made it clear his client wants to win instead of toiling in obscurity. Fox reiterated that point during a podcast appearance on the “Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.”

“For me, man, it has all to do with the team, the organization, where are we going?” Fox said. “I want to make sure that we’re in a position to try to win in the future because that’s ultimately what I want to do. I feel like I’m continuing to get better as a player every year. But for me, it’s ‘Are we looking like we’re continuing to get better year after year, and are we going to be able to compete at a high level?’

“If we can show that this year, you know, you sign the extension now. If not, obviously I still have another year, but that’s where my mindset is. I love the city. I love being here. I’ve raised my family here. I would love to be here and retire here. How many people can say they played in one organization for their whole career? I want to be a part of that select few people, but at the end of the day, I also want to win.”

Fox has spent eight seasons with the Kings since coming out of Kentucky as the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He is averaging 25.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 46.8% from the field and 32.4% from 3-point range.

Fox endured five long, losing seasons in Sacramento before the Kings finally broke through under former coach Mike Brown in 2022-23. Brown led the Kings to 48 wins and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history after 16 consecutive losing seasons.

The Kings failed to make the playoffs last season, falling in the final round of the play-in tournament. There were high hopes in Sacramento this season after the Kings added DeMar DeRozan to a core that already featured Fox, Malik Monk, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis, but the Kings struggled early, going 13-19 to start the season.

Brown was fired Dec. 27. The Kings are 11-4 under interim coach Doug Christie, but Fox has continued to signal a lack of interest in signing an extension with Sacramento, sources told The Athletic’s Sam Amick.