De'Aaron Fox Trade Rumors: Spurs Are 'Preferred Landing Spot' amid Nets Links

If Sacramento Kings star point guard De'Aaron Fox ends up being moved ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, his "preferred landing spot" is reportedly the San Antonio Spurs, per Kings' reporter James Ham.

That follows multiple reports that the Kings will listen to offers from Fox, but that the guard has a preferred destination in mind:

The Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets have also been linked to a possible move for Fox:

But Ian Begley of SNY reported that "several opposing teams monitoring the Fox/Sacramento situation believed San Antonio was among the teams he'd like to play for."

It's easy enough to see why Fox might be intrigued by the Spurs.

For one, the team has an ascending superstar in Victor Wembanyama, while Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle and Julian Champagnie make up an intriguing young core around him.

A Fox and Wemby pick-and-roll would be dynamic. The former is averaging 25.2 points and 6.2 assists per game this season and remains one of the most explosive points guards in the sport, while Wemby is putting up a cool 24.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and an NBA-leading 3.9 blocks per game. He's already one of the league's best two-way players, and his ability to hit shots from the perimeter (35.3 percent from three) also makes him one of the game's most dynamic and versatile big men.

But the Spurs wouldn't have to settle for a Fox and Wemby core, given that they are also flush with future draft capital:

• 2025: Own first-rounder, Atlanta's unprotected first, Chicago's protected first (1-10), Charlotte's protected first (1-14).
• 2026: Own first-rounder, first-round swap rights with Atlanta.
• 2027: Own first-rounder, Atlanta's unprotected first.
• 2028: Own first-rounder, first-round swap rights with Boston (protected for No. 1).
• 2029: Own first-rounder.
• 2030: Own first-rounder, most valuable first-rounder between Minnesota and Dallas.
• 2031: Own first-rounder, Minnesota's unprotected first, first-round swap rights with Sacramento.

While some of those picks would be needed to acquire Fox, the Spurs would still have ammo to land another star player in a trade going forward.

The question for the Spurs is whether they want to make such a move now. Wemby is only 21 years old and on a different timeline than Fox, who is firmly in his prime years. The Spurs don't have to be in a rush to depart with their many draft assets, especially while they sit at 20-23 on the season and currently out of the Play-In Tournament berths in the loaded Western Conference.

They could win the draft lottery in the next two years and land Cooper Flagg or A.J. Dybantsa. And even if they didn't, they may have enough draft capital to move the board for players like Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer in the next two drafts, all players on Wemby's timeline.

At some point, the team is going to surround Wemby with more talent, and Fox would be a good fit if they go after an established star. Whether it currently makes the most sense to do so, however, is up for debate.