De'Aaron Fox Trade Rumors: Kings Want 'Win-Now Players,' Draft Picks amid Spurs Buzz

The Sacramento Kings are pursuing both players and draft capital in trade calls with "dozens" of teams interested in trading for De'Aaron Fox, Shams Charania said Wednesday on ESPN's First Take.

"The Kings, so far in conversations with all those teams, they say they want win-now players. They want draft capital as well," Charania said.

Charania reported Tuesday that the Kings were "expected to open talks" regarding a potential Fox trade.

Fox is set to hit free agency after the 2025-26 season, and Charania wrote that "he has not shown a willingness yet to commit long term in Sacramento."

He reportedly turned down a three-year, $165 million max extension ahead of the 2024-25 season, per Charania.

By waiting, Fox set himself up to sign an extension worth up to $296 million, per Keith Smith of Spotrac and Front Office Sports.

The max he could make in free agency would be $219 million, which could be pushing him to seek a trade by the Feb. 6 deadline, per Smith.

Fox could earn up to five years and $345 million on a supermax deal if he is named to an All-NBA team, but only if he signs the deal in Sacramento, per Smith.

Money might not be the only thing driving Fox's potential departure from the Kings, however. The Athletic's Sam Amick and Anthony Slater previously reported that Fox and his agent Rich Paul were evaluating the Kings' path forward to decide if they were approaching Fox's goal of contending for the playoffs.

Charania previously reported that the San Antonio Spurs are on top of Fox's "list of preferred destinations," and Amick and Slater wrote in December that San Antonio "is positioning itself to pursue [Fox] as a possible partner for Victor Wembanyama."

San Antonio's stockpile of draft assets could make them a candidate to trade for Fox. The Spurs have 12 first-rounders over the next seven years alone, as well as an NBA-high 20 second-round picks and first-round pick swap rights in three separate years, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.

Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee predicted that Fox trade talks will involve "some combination of first-round draft picks and young players, including rookie guard Stephon Castle, fifth-year guard Devin Vassell and third-year forward Jeremy Sochan."

Offering both a first-round pick and a developing star like Castle could help the Spurs meet the terms Charania reports the Kings are looking for.

The Spurs also theoretically have room to offer Fox an extension. Spotrac currently projects them as one of six NBA teams with at least $20 million in projected cap space heading into the 2025-26 season. Being able to sign Fox long-term could make the haul the Spurs would have to give up to acquire him worth it.