If you hadn’t heard, there was a pretty big three-team trade that went down in the NBA this afternoon between the Bulls, Kings, and Spurs.
So, there was another major move in the Zach LaVine deal we should probably discuss too. To us in Chicago, obviously, LaVine rejoining DeMar DeRozan in Sacramento was the most important part of the three-team blockbuster deal reported by Shams Charania earlier this evening. However, league-wide, De’Aaron Fox heading to San Antonio, and pairing with Victor Wembanyama is the biggest part of this swap.
De’Aaron Fox Gets His Wish & Joins The Spurs
It was never going to be very difficult for the Spurs to attract star talent to San Antonio to play with Victor Wembanyama. The fact that they were able to do it this quickly and get a pretty perfect match is quite impressive, though. Fox is an ideal lead guard to play with the former first-overall pick, and this move should allow them to make a push for the Play-In Tournament this season.
As of now, they’re just two games back of Sacramento for that final Play-In spot, and the addition of Fox gives them a much better chance of chasing the Kings down. Good luck to the opposing defenses trying to slow down Fox and Wembanyama.
Not only does this move give the Spurs a dynamic star duo, but they were also able to make the move without having to give up rookie Stephon Castle which is huge. Castle has had an outstanding year for San Antonio after being selected fourth overall in last summer’s NBA Draft.
One would also have to think that San Antonio won’t really have to worry about Fox re-signing with the Spurs, either. San Antonio was Fox’s desired destination when his agent let the Kings know last week that they should probably look to move him. Now that he got his wish, I’d be pretty surprised if there wasn’t an extension agreed to at some point this summer when he becomes eligible to do so. Fox is due $37 million next season before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2026.
While we can debate all we want about the Bulls’ return, it seems pretty undeniable that the Spurs knocked this trade out of the park, and the Kings did about as good as they could have. The Spurs got their star to pair with Wemby without having to give up their other young building block in Stephon Castle, and the Kings – while moving on from a star – brought in Zach LaVine who’s having a fantastic season as well as a ton of draft capital.
Just a reminder, we still have a few days until the trade deadline, so buckle up this might just be the beginning of more trade chaos on the horizon.