Two years removed from being the feel-good story of the NBA, the Sacramento Kings find themselves in a place the franchise is all too familiar with — limbo.
Though they’re 7-3 in their last 10 and 11-4 since parting ways with head coach Mike Brown, the Kings’ window for contention seems shut. Now, only three seasons after choosing to build around De’Aaron Fox over Tyrese Haliburton and trading the latter for Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento is at a crossroads with their selected saviour.
According to reports from The Athletic and ESPN, Fox — through his agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports — has informed the organization that he doesn’t intend on staying long-term and the best course of action may be to trade him.
The dynamic guard is still under contract for the rest of this season and the next, but his value might never be higher than it is now, meaning that the Kings could get a jumpstart on their next window sooner rather than later if they play their cards right. The team understands what’s at stake, which is why they’re reportedly listening to offers on the 27-year-old and may choose to cash in.
Any return for the guard is sure to be immense, as he immediately becomes the biggest prize ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Fox could be a game-changer for any team that acquires his services, capable of transforming an offence with his speed and penchant for clutch scoring while adding a capable point-of-attack defence and ball-hawking.
While the Kings may not be contenders anymore, any team that does manage to swing a deal for Fox could suddenly skyrocket into one. With all that being said, here are five possible trade destinations for the all-star guard.
With Victor Wembanyama’s meteoric rise to superstardom, the Spurs may want to maximize the window of contention around the player predestined to become the face of the NBA by acquiring star talent to surround him with. Enter De’Aaron Fox.
According to reports around the league, Fox wants to be in San Antonio, functioning as the second superstar alongside Wembanyama playing for one of the most stable franchises in the league.
Not only does the fit alongside Wembanyama make sense — with his absurd speed further confounding defences already puzzled by Wemby’s size and floor-spacing — but financially, the Spurs are one of the squads that can afford to take him on and pay him a max in the coming years. They have the third-lowest payroll in the league and Wembanyama will still be playing under a rookie contract through the 2026-27 season.
San Antonio also has the assets to make the deal work. They have four first-rounders in 2025 and all their own picks until 2031. Additionally, though they may not have the win-now players Sacramento wants, a young talent like Stephon Castle could be of interest.
When you have a talent like Wembanyama in your building, a smart team will do everything in its power to win and win early on. The West might be crowded, but playoff experience goes a long way. It’s time to force the window open.
Despite being second in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets have a dilemma on their hands. Do you stay the course with a team that has gelled and developed a successful identity or do you go «all-in» and get the superstar you’re still lacking?
There’s no real go-to scorer in Houston; no singular force that opposing teams are game-planning for. Though it’s been a working formula for the upstart team thus far, playoff basketball is regularly decided by those sorts of individual talents.
Fox doesn’t exactly have the playoff pedigree, having only appeared in one post-season series over his eight-year NBA career. But when hard-fought games come down to crunch time, are the Rockets more comfortable putting the ball into even more unproven commodities like Jalen Green or Amen Thompson?
The speedy guard fits the team’s identity as a ball-hawking guard, capable of using his athleticism to jump passing lanes and run the break for a team that makes their money in transition. And though they don’t have as much draft capital as the Spurs, they have prospects that the Kings may covet in guys like third-overall pick Reed Sheppard or sophomore Cam Whitmore. If the Kings value players more than picks, Houston could be the team to watch.
As it stands, the Magic have the second-worst offence in the league with a 107.6 offensive rating. They have the worst three-point percentage (30.7), third-worst field goal percentage (43.9) and fourth-worst assists per game (23.4), yet they’ve still found a way to make it work.
For a team struggling mightily in the half-court, De’Aaron Fox — though not a cure-all — would fill a much-needed hole as a legitimate table-setter and offensive dynamo. If any team needs Fox’s services, it’s the Magic. He would also fit well into their defence — as Jalen Suggs takes on the toughest on-ball assignment, Fox would be able to roam more freely and use his instincts to jump passing lanes off the ball.
In terms of a return, the Magic can offer up youngsters like 2023 sixth-overall pick Anthony Black or rookie Tristan Da Silva. With two first-rounders in 2025 and all their picks until 2031, they can also swing Sacramento a tantalizing haul of draft capital to sweeten the pot.
Despite the glaring concern that comes with losing a guy like De’Aaron Fox, the Kings reportedly want «win-now players» in any return, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Miami provides the best «win-now» package out there centred around disgruntled star Jimmy Butler.
The fit is questionable for Sacramento, as Butler would be playing alongside DeMar DeRozan who occupies similar spots on the floor. It would also further crowd the lane for Sabonis, who does damage inside the arc, finding guys on the perimeter to kick out to. Neither Butler nor DeRozan are exactly the type to stand around in the corner waiting for a play to develop. But if you want to continue to win now, Butler has a proven track record of doing just that.
Miami, meanwhile, would get a real point guard to complement Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. They’ve been an interesting story this season, keeping their head above water despite pervasive outside (and inside) noise. They have the 10th-ranked defence and could use a boost on the other end of the floor, which Fox can provide in spades.
In all, it would be a nice double-whammy for Miami, finally getting rid of Butler and doing so for a package that keeps them in contention as a frisky team in a questionable Eastern Conference.
When Rich Paul is involved, the Los Angeles Lakers always need to be part of the conversation.
The Lakers are in desperate need of a third star, as the aging LeBron James and injury-prone Anthony Davis simply aren’t enough to keep them in lockstep with young, aggressive and athletic teams like the Thunder or Rockets.
Though there are a few needs for the Lakers, a secondary ball-handler to alleviate the load on James and Austin Reaves could go a long way, especially when it’s one as talented as Fox, who would immediately add a new wrinkle to the team’s below-average pace.
But the thought of the Kings trading their best star in decades to their biggest rivals is probably sickening, and out of principle, something the front office and the fanbase likely want to stay away from.
Additionally, the Lakers only have two first-rounders to offer Sacramento (2029 and 2031) and don’t have players the Kings should be interested in. It’s the most unlikely scenario listed, but Rich Paul knows how to make his clients happy, so ruling anything out might be shortsighted.
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