De'Aaron Fox Divulges Thoughts on Kings in Recent Interview

Fox and his agent made it clear that he would not sign the max extension Sacramento was offering, and instead made it clear that he was not happy that the franchise fired Brown. 

Those initial tweets came on January 28. Despite having another year on his contract before UFA, Sacramento abruptly dealt Fox just five days after those tweets. Fox was a Spur. The return for Sacramento was seen as underwhelming when the trade happened, as Zach LaVine is on what was largely considered an unmovable contract. This has remained the case, and LaVine has not played up to his lofty salary. Sacramento has shown no willingness to extend LaVine at a more favorable annual salary, either. 

The return only looks worse as San Antonio continues to flourish and the picks they traded to Sacramento move further and further back in the first round. There is no sign of the Spurs falling apart either. Their young core of Victor Wembanyama (22), Stephon Castle (21), and Dylan Harper (19) will be there for many years. Fox (27) signed a max extension over the summer, locking him in for his prime years as well. 

Fox and Keegan Still in Touch

In what is somewhat of a sad development, Fox went on to say that the only member of the organization he keeps in touch with is Keegan Murray. It is not too surprising that Fox has not kept in better touch with the few remaining holdovers. He has a new team to lead, and it seems like there was more internal strife than we know. 

It would have been very disappointing if he had not stayed in touch with Murray, though. Fox took Murray under his wing almost immediately (I am told Fox even managed to make Keegan smile a couple of times), and it seemed like the two were very close. 

The final Fox quote in Stein’s article is both not telling at all while also incredibly telling. He was asked directly about the Kings, and replied that he “[doesn’t] really have anything to say. It is what it is. I wish [Murray] the best. Whether that is rebuilding, I want him to be in the best position for him.” The quote ended with the one-liner, “the grass is greener on this side.” 

If you are wondering how painful it was to write this, the answer is very. It was very painful. In a poetic development, Fox and the Spurs play Mike Brown and the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup Championship tomorrow night. Both the Spurs and Knicks are 18-7 on the season. Meanwhile, Sacramento is 6-20 and looks to avoid their 8th loss in 9 games on Thursday when they play the Portland Trail Blazers.