Back Spurs For Playoff Push Following Fox Trade
by Sam Cox | by Tyler Doty
Big Moves in San Antonio
The San Antonio Spurs were the most obvious landing spot for De’Aaron Fox when it became clear he was available. It took only a few days for the deal to materialize, with the Spurs, Sacramento Kings, and Chicago Bulls working out a three-team deal as follows.
Spurs get:
- De'Aron Fox
- Jordan McLaughlin
Kings get:
- Zach LaVine
- Sidy Cissoko
- 2025 first-round pick (Hornets)
- 2027 first-round pick (Spurs)
- 2031 first-round pick (Timberwolves)
- 2025 second-round pick (Bulls)
- 2028 second-round pick (Nuggets)
- 2028 second-round pick (their own back from Bulls)
Bulls get:
- Zach Collins
- Tre Jones
- Kevin Huerter
- Their own 2025 pick back from Spurs
The Bulls again failed to bring in any first rounders aside from their own. Sacramento has reunited LaVine and DeMar DeRozan on a no-defense, point guard-less core. San Antonio has added Fox to Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, and Jeremy Sochan in its long-term core.
The three firsts haul looks better than it is for the Kings. The 2025 first from the Charlotte Hornets is protected 1-14. With the Hornets destined for the lottery, it will almost certainly become seconds in 2026 and 2027. Keep this in mind for your upcoming NBA picks!
Significant Odds Change
This deal signifies another step towards rebuilding for the Bulls. They have gone 4-10 over their last 14 and are looking to tumble further in the standings to keep their pick (which is top-10 protected). Nikola Vučević is likely to follow LaVine out the door before the deadline, while Lonzo Ball, Patrick Williams, and Coby White are reportedly available.
For Sacramento, it is intended to keep them in the mix. They are, however, as short as -455 to make the playoffs at Caesars, despite residing 10th in the west. FanDuel has the best price on the Kings to make the playoffs at +310.
San Antonio has shortened to +320 to make the postseason at Caesars. FanDuel has the best price at +400.
The Spurs are only one game behind the Dallas Mavericks (ninth) and Kings (10th) in the loss column. Both teams have lost their best players over the weekend. They are only one loss behind the eighth-seeded Phoenix Suns.
Troubled Kings
The LaVine and DeRozan experiment didn’t work out in Chicago. The surrounding talent is better in Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, and Malik Monk, yet this remains a massively flawed team.
It’s almost exclusively an offense-first roster. A team of one-way players doesn’t tend to be competitive. While the offense might work better with Sabonis and Monk than it did with White and Vučević, this Kings team is still touch and go for a top-10 spot in the Western Conference.
The 2031 Minnesota Timberwolves pick is the best draft asset in the trade. There’s real upside for the Kings there with a solid chance Anthony Edwards is playing elsewhere by the 2030/31 season. In the short-term, this team looks locked in for yet more mediocrity.
Surging Spurs
The outlook couldn’t be much more different for the Spurs. Where the Kings have a hard ceiling, San Antonio has limitless potential in Wembanyama. Castle, Sochan, Johnson, and Vassell are also contributing now with the possibility of breakouts in the second half of this decade.
The Spurs are already +3.8 per 100 possessions in Wembanyama’s minutes. The -9.6 when he’s on the bench should improve considerably with Fox’s arrival.
As of Feb. 3, the Spurs and Kings have an almost identical remaining strength of schedule, according to Tankathon. San Antonio has ground to make up, but their outlook is considerably brighter despite a similar schedule to the Kings.
Whatever else happens before the trade deadline, the arrival of Fox should get the Spurs back on track after a January slump. Their price to make the playoffs represents excellent value considering the uncertainty in Dallas, the prolonged struggles of the Golden State Warriors, and the Kings’ so-so return for Fox.
