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De'Aaron Fox Rumors: Teams Believe Kings Star Is Still Available at Trade Deadline
January 28, 2022
Some NBA team executives believe that Sacramento Kings point guard De'Aaron Fox "remains gettable" as the Feb. 10 trade deadline approaches.
Longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein discussed the latest trade rumors and speculation in his most recent Substack article and mentioned the 24-year-old Fox, who has averaged 21.0 points, 5.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in his fifth NBA season.
"There is a sense among some rival executives that Fox remains gettable," Stein wrote. "Road losses in Boston and Atlanta by a combined 70 points this week haven’t done much to alter that perception."
The 18-32 Kings are in the midst of a 2-10 tailspin that has dropped the team to 13th in the Western Conference. They are in danger of missing out on the playoffs for the 16th straight year.
Fox has played well for the Kings over his five seasons. While he's never developed into a superstar, his energetic play and ability to score 20-plus points per game have kept the Kings from avoiding the lowest depths of the league standings.
The issue has been that the Kings have been unable to build around him, although they have added talented players such as Tyrese Haliburton and Richaun Holmes to the team.
Ultimately, the Kings may be best served blowing it all up and starting over.
At this juncture of the season, Sacramento's best-case scenario is sneaking into the play-in tournament and perhaps qualifying for the playoffs, but seeing the Kings do anything more than that is hard to fathom given their recent slide.
As it stands, Sacramento's defense has completely fallen apart, with the team allowing the second-most points per game in the league and sitting 29th out of 30 NBA teams in defensive rating, per Basketball Reference.
The Kings don't have the offensive firepower to at least somewhat mitigate that and stay competitive, and Fox is the team's best player, so a blowup may be necessary.
That could be a good move for Fox as well, as he could thrive in another environment where he has more help and could contribute for a playoff or championship contender.
For now, the Kings are finishing out a five-game Eastern Conference road swing. The Philadelphia 76ers are up next on Saturday.