Do The Spurs Have A De’Aaron Fox Problem?

Dec 25, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) is defended by San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (4) on a drive during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Do The Spurs Have A De’Aaron Fox Problem?

Originally posted on Stadium Rant | By David Desa | Last updated Jun 19, 2026 11:04 AM ET

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De’Aaron Fox has been a valuable pickup for the San Antonio Spurs since they acquired him at the 2025 trade deadline. For the Spurs, it was a no-brainer at the time. He had been playing great basketball for the Sacramento Kings, but without a competent team around him, he wasn’t able to do much. As soon as Fox arrived in San Antonio, he showed the connection that he could develop with Victor Wembanyama before Fox ultimately ended up sitting for the rest of the year. This was all before the Spurs found out that they would have the second overall pick in the 2025 draft, and this changed everything.

Why Fox Might Not Be Needed In San Antonio Anymore

With that second overall pick, San Antonio took guard Dylan Harper, and although it is still early in his career, he looks to be the perfect pick. Harper was a solid backup guard to Fox in his rookie year and made the all-rookie first team, but the regular season isn’t where he made his mark. Harper’s game came alive in the playoffs, especially after Fox got hurt entering the Conference Finals, where Harper dropped 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and seven steals as a starter. Once Fox got back to the lineup, he just wasn’t the same, and you could really tell that ankle was affecting him.

Harper continued to outplay Fox in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, all while coming off the bench. This has led many people to doubt Fox’s future with the Spurs. Not to mention that he’s on a huge contract, making $229 million over the course of four years. That is an extremely difficult contract to trade, especially after the way he was playing on the game’s biggest stage. He basically cost San Antonio a game in the Finals when he could have dribbled the clock out at the end of Game Four but chose to go for a layup instead.

End Of My San Antonio Spurs De’Aaron Fox Rant

The Spurs will surely be making calls during the offseason to see what they could get for a potential trade for the All-Star guard. With the emergence of Stephon Castle as well, it makes it pretty clear that a guard isn’t what they’re lacking, but with a contract as large as Fox’s, who knows what team will pick up that call? He’s turned into a bit of a problem for San Antonio, but the front office couldn’t have guessed that they would land Harper in the draft. It will be interesting to see how the Spurs handle this situation because it clearly needs to be addressed.

This article first appeared on Stadium Rant and was syndicated with permission.

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