Not even 24 hours after one of the biggest trades in NBA history, the Sacramento Kings agreed to send star De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs with the Chicago Bulls being a third team in the deal. Sacramento received Zach Lavine, Sidy Cissoko, 3 future first-round picks and 3 future second-round picks. Unlike the Luka Dončić trade early Sunday morning, NBA fans had an inkling this was coming.
News broke that Sacramento made Fox open for trade ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. NBA sources stated his preferred destination was San Antonio. San Antonio hit a grand slam in this deal by not having to give up key names like Devin Vassell or Jeremy Schohan. Not to mention their rookie sensation, Stephon Castle, the former UConn Husky who is a top candidate for the Rookie of the Year. Castle is averaging 12 points per game, which is second among all rookies in the league. Philadelphia 76ers’ Jared McCain is first in points; however, he suffered a season-ending torn meniscus just 23 games in. With this trade, Fox gets to team up with French phenom, Victor Wembanyama, making a lethal duo.
A speedy guard along with a freak athlete center, who is going to stop the Spurs? Three-point shooting.
San Antonio is a bottom-ten team in three-point shooting and adding De’Aaron Fox surely will not help their case. Fox is a 33% three-point shooter for his career, which is subpar for a point guard in the modern NBA era.
The potential starting lineup for the Spurs: De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes and Victor Wembanyama.
With this potential starting lineup, it pushes veteran Chris Paul to the bench, which is not the worst outcome for the team. The 39-year-old is in his 20th season and could not fit better in San Antonio, being a great mentor for the 21-year-old Wembanyama. San Antonio, with a record of 21-25 position themselves just two-and-a-half games out of a play-in spot. They hope this trade can launch them into a top ten seed.
On paper, Sacramento received a good deal: three first round picks, one of which being from Charlotte. Do not get your hopes up, Kings fans. That 2025 pick is in the top 14 protected and as of Feb. 2, the Hornets hold the fourth worst record in the league. Unless Charlotte can somehow make a miracle playoff push, the Kings will not end up with said draft pick. Instead, it will be conveyed into two second round picks. The two remaining picks have a bit of value, but surely not enough to be a top five pick.
Let us not forget that Zach LaVine is a bonafide star, averaging 24.6 PPG shooting 45% from beyond the arc and is reuniting with former Bull, DeMar DeRozan after just half a season apart. The only issue Sacramento must deal with is his hefty contract, having to pay LaVine over $90 million for the next two years.
The potential starting lineup for the Kings: Malik Monk, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis.
LaVine fits well by having chemistry with DeRozan and these two will be the main ball handlers with Monk as the 2nd or 3rd option. It will be exciting to see how LaVine and Sabonis operate together on the offensive side of the ball. Sacramento is not looking to win now, with two of their key starters LaVine at 29-years-old and DeRozan at 35. With a handful of picks now in their arsenal that (hopefully) have value, the future is in the eyes of Sacramento. The Kings sit at 10th in the Western Conference with a record of 25-24, just half a game from falling out of the play-in tournament.
The potential starting five for Chicago consists of Josh Giddey, Coby White, Ayo Dosnumu, Patrick Williams and Nikola Vucevic.
Chicago is looking upon someone else to step up after the departure of Zach LaVine. The Bulls can use some sharpshooting from Kevin Huerter. Huerter, who is in his seventh season fell out of the Kings rotation and looks to get more minutes in the Windy City. Zach Collins and Tre Jones do not bring too much to the table to make an impact for the Bulls. Ayo Dosunmu has big shoes to fill if he wants to push the Bulls back to .500 basketball. This team is young and needs a few more years to develop. If the Bulls ride with this lineup for the next three years or so, they can see themselves in a true playoff spot for the first time since the 2022 season. The Bulls are 21-29 and in tenth place in the Eastern Conference with a game of breathing room ahead of Philadelphia.
With the trade deadline looming, we can expect more drama. Jimmy Butler is a name to keep an eye out for, as he wants to be traded from Miami. The Heat organization has suspended Butler indefinitely as he is refusing to contribute to team related activities.
The trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m.
James Badeau is always a great read! Excellent analysis