All-Star guard's extension was a no-brainer for Spurs

The 27-year-old Fox was an All-Star and the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year in 2022-23 with the Sacramento Kings. After a trade to the Spurs last season, Fox played only briefly with Wembanyama before the the young center's blood clot issue shut him down for the season. 

Then, Fox had season-ending surgery on a finger injury he suffered in training camp, which paid off when the Spurs tanked their way to the No. 2 overall pick, taking Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper.

With Harper and last year's Rookie of the Year, Stephon Castle, already on board, the Spurs are overstocked at the point guard position. But giving Fox a max deal is a relatively low-risk proposition for the Spurs, who simply aren't spending much money on salaries right now.

Harrison Barnes and Kelly Olynyk represent $32.4M in expiring contracts this season. Keldon Johnson has two years and $35M left on his deal. Luke Kornet's contract is non-guaranteed after next season. Wembanyama, Castle, Harper and Carter Bryant are all on rookie contracts. Wembanyama's expected maximum extension won't kick in until 2027-28, and Harper and Bryant's rookie extensions won't start until the final season of Fox's new contract.

The Spurs also aren't far along enough that they need to worry about duplicating positions. Castle and Harper were both high picks, but there's no guarantee they're going to turn into stars, let alone quality NBA players. Players selected No. 2 in the last 10 NBA drafts have made a total of four All-Star appearances, with Ja Morant accounting for two of them.

Fox is a good player now, providing the Spurs with scoring and an ability to get to the rim and the foul line that doesn't exist with the rest of their roster. If Harper and Castle develop, then having too many good point guards is not a bad problem to have. Plus the NBA salary cap could be as high as $220M by the last year of Fox's deal, making his high salary far less oppressive.

Is there an opportunity cost to tying up $229M for Fox? Yes, but in the modern NBA, very few star players are changing teams via free agency. If the Spurs want to acquire a different star, they'll need big salaries like Fox's or Devin Vassell's contract ($105.6M over the next four seasons) to match anyway.

In Fox, the Spurs got a 27-year-old All-Star who wanted to commit long-term to their small-market franchise. Signing him to a max extension in that situation is a no-brainer.