De'Aaron Fox Rumors: 'Serious Skepticism' Spurs Would Trade Stephon Castle to Kings

There is "serious skepticism" that the San Antonio Spurs would be willing to include rookie guard Stephon Castle in any deal involving Sacramento Kings star De'Aaron Fox.

Sam Amick of The Athletic reported the news.

"The Kings are known to covet the Spurs rookie guard who was taken fourth overall out of Connecticut in the NBA Draft last June, but there is serious skepticism in league circles that San Antonio will be willing to include him," Amick wrote.

"If that's ultimately the case, the Kings would have to determine whether there's an acceptable pathway to doing the deal without him. That's not the end of San Antonio's considerations, either."

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday that the Kings were "expected to open up talks to potentially deal" Fox prior to the Feb. 6 trade deadline. He also said Fox has a "target destination" in mind.

James Ham of ESPN 1320 reported that Fox's preferred landing spot is the Spurs, and Amick noted that Fox's preferred destination is "widely believed" to be San Antonio as well.

Amick also reported that "De'Aaron Fox's agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, recently sent word that it would be wise for the Kings to move him now."

If that's the case, then the Spurs could have some leverage here in negotiations, especially with the deadline approaching in a week.

San Antonio certainly wouldn't want to part with Castle, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

The ex-UConn star, who won a national championship in his lone year at school, has broken out recently with 18.0 points per game on 48 percent shooting over his last seven contests.

Of course, Fox is a star that San Antonio should pursue, especially given his reported interest in the team. He could be a game-changer for a team on the rise and form a great partnership with superstar Victor Wembyanama. He's averaging 25.1 points, 6.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game this season and squarely in his prime at 27 years of age.

For now, Fox remains a King, but that could change within a week. It's pretty clear, though, that Castle should be staying in San Antonio, which is a wise move for the Spurs given his potential.