De'Aaron Fox Told Kings 'I'm Going to Play for Another Team' After Mike Brown Firing

The Sacramento Kings' abrupt midseason firing of former head coach Mike Brown may have been the last straw for former Kings star De'Aaron Fox.

"I was like, 'Yo, I've been here for going on my eighth year. If Mike gets fired, I'll be going on my fifth coach,'" Fox told ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "And I told them, 'I'm not going to play for another coach. I'm going to play for another team.'"

The Kings fired Brown just before the team boarded a flight to Los Angeles on Dec. 27, per ABC 10's Matt George. Fox was traded to the San Antonio Spurs just over one month later.

According to The Athletic's Sam Amick and Anthony Slater, the part of the firing that "bothered Fox most was that his voice had not been heard, nor his warning heeded."

Fox had played under Dave Joerger, Luke Walton, Alvin Gentry and Brown during his first seven seasons with the Kings. When Brown signed a three-year extension with the Kings in May of last year, Fox told reporters he felt like "just having that stability helps in the long run."

According to Amick and and Slater, Fox reiterated that opinion as the organization discussed firing Brown half a year later:

"During Brown’s extension talks, the organization’s waffling on the coach’s future had reached Fox. Per league and team sources, the front office asked for his opinion. Fox, who had four coaches in his first seven seasons, was clear: He was a strong supporter of Brown’s and had no interest in another coaching change. Fox had been asking for a structured environment with a level of accountability for years. It felt, to him, like they were building it."

After opposing Brown's dismissal in the first place, Fox was also bothered by general manager Monte McNair taking six weeks to publicly address his role in the firing, Wright reported.

Although the Kings released a statement on Dec. 27 which general manager Monte McNair called firing Brown "a difficult decision," McNair didn't take any interviews about the move until Feb. 5, the day after Fox was traded.

"You fire the coach, and you don't do an interview?" Fox told Wright. "So, all the blame was on me.

"Did it weigh on me? No. I don't give a f---. But the fact y'all are supposed to be protecting your player and y'all let that happen. ... I felt at the time the organization didn't have my back."

Fox also indicated he was frustrated by reporters regarding his preferred destinations. ESPN's Shams Charania reported the week before the trade that sources "believed" the Spurs were "atop his list of preferred landing spots."

"There was no f---ing list. There was one team," Fox told Wright. "I wanted to go to San Antonio.

"So, a lot of people are mad at me, saying I handcuffed the team by giving them a destination. Well, this is my career. If anybody else is in my position, you'd do the same thing. It's not my job to help build your team. I'm not about to just go where they want me to go. I wanted to have a destination."

The Spurs are on the outside of the play-in picture looking in, and Victor Wembanyama's season-ending deep vein thrombosis diagnosis means the path to the 2025 postseason is steep. If the Spurs are officially eliminated from the playoffs, Fox may decide to get what he recently told The Athletic's Mike Monroe will be necessary surgery to address the dislocated pinky finger on his left hand.

San Antonio will then hope to get both Fox and Wembanyama healthy in time for a playoff push in 2026.