Another day and another blockbuster trade. While this one wasn’t as big as the deal that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Mavericks, it was still a big one. De’Aaron Fox heads to San Antonio to play with Victor Wembanyama while the Zach LaVine era in Chicago is over. The deal is De’Aaron Fox and Jordan McLaughlin to the Spurs, Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, 3 first round picks (sort of) and 3 second round picks to the Kings and Kevin Huerter, Tre Jones, Zach Collins and the Bulls 2025 first round pick to the Bulls. It is a big trade so, for the second day in a row, let’s break it all down.
This offseason the Spurs wanted to improve around Victor Wembanyama but not be too drastic and sacrifice too much of their future. They drafted Stephon Castle with the 4th pick, signed Chris Paul as a free agent and acquired Harrison Barnes from the Kings, leading to them being one of the surprises of the league. They kept all of their assets to make a big move so when Fox became available and made it known he wanted to get to the Spurs, San Antonio struck. I am not the biggest De’Aaron Fox fan, he is below average defensively and is an okay shooter at best, shooting 32% from three this season. Overpaying for Fox would have been a mistake for the Spurs to make. They did not do that here. I like Tre Jones but with Fox, Paul and Castle on the roster he became expandable, Zach Collins has fallen out of the rotation this season and Sidy Cissoko has only played in 29 career games over 2 seasons. They didn’t give up anything from a player perspective. For picks they gave up a 2025 lottery protected Hornets first rounder that will convert to 2nd rounders in 2026 and 2027, along with the Bulls 2025 top 10 protected first sent back to Chicago, their own 2027 unprotected first and the Timberwolves 2031 unprotected first. The Spurs will likely be good in 2027 so that won’t be too valuable and who knows if that Chicago pick would have conveyed so the most valuable asset they gave up was a 2031 Timberwolves pick. For De’Aaron Fox, this is a worthwhile price for the Spurs.
The duo Fox will create with Wemby will be very fun to watch. This season, Fox ranks 7th in the NBA in points per possession as the pick and roll ball handler at 1.07 points per possession, minimum 100 possessions. Meanwhile, Wembanyama ranks 10th in points per possession as the pick and roll rollman this season at 1.16 points per possession, minimum 100 possessions. Long story short, the pick and roll is going to be lethal in San Antonio for years to come. Keeping Castle and Devin Vassell was also good by the Spurs. Although, Castle’s numbers are not too impressive, shooting 48% from 2 point range (league average is 54.5%) and 27% from 3 point range, he is still a player I am really high on and Vassell also hasn’t had his best season but his secondary creation and his ability to put the ball in the basket are two things that the Spurs will need going forward. This trade does not make the Spurs a title threat this season but it does make them better this season and in future years when they will be a title threat. Next up, signing Fox to a contract extension this summer.
I think this is a good trade for the Kings. Let’s start with the fact that De’Aaron Fox turned down a 3yr/$165 million contract this past summer in Sacramento and this summer, he was going to be eligible to sign a 4yr/$229 million extension to remain a King for the long haul. He had no interest in signing a new deal in Sacramento and the Kings would have been staring unrestricted free agency right in the face come 2026. To be honest, I don’t think I would have committed that kind of money to Fox with the money Sacramento has already committed to Domantas Sabonis, who is in the first year of a 4yr/$186 million extension. However, the Kings were clearly prepared to sign Fox because adding Zach LaVine shows that they want to keep winning. The three first round picks they got are really 2 first round picks because the Hornets 2025 pick is lottery protected and if it does not convey this season, spoiler it won’t, it becomes 2nd round picks in 2026 and 2027 via the Hornets. Those could be good 2nd round picks. They also got the Bulls 2nd round pick this year, their own 2nd round pick in 2028 and the Nuggets 2028 2nd rounder. That Bulls 2nd could have some value to them this summer as they look to improve and they were short on 2nds so getting 4 extras to go along with the 2025 pick is good business. I expect the Spurs to be good in 2027 so that pick will probably be in the 20’s so the real chip in terms of picks is the Timberwolves unprotected in 2031 which who knows where that pick will land. Adding LaVine in this trade will help the Kings roster this season.
Remember when Zach LaVine signed an offer-sheet with the Kings in 2018 free agency. The Bulls, of course, matched it but 6 and a half years later, LaVine ends up on the Kings. The new Sacramento starting 5 is going to be Malik Monk, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis. That group is going to score a lot of points. As a 4-player lineup this season, Monk, DeRozan, Murray and Sabonis are scoring 118.3 points per 100 possessions and are +7.1 per 100 possessions in 606 minutes; they have been very good and very efficient. Adding LaVine could take some time for chemistry purposes but once they figure that out, I see no reason why the Kings starting 5 can’t be one of the best starting groups offensively in the NBA. LaVine is having one of his best seasons in the NBA scoring 24 points a night on 51% from the field, 45% from three with a true shooting percentage of 64%. He has been awesome and with the Kings ready to allow Malik Monk to become their new starting point guard, LaVine will slide into the 2-guard spot and give the Kings instant offense. Their defense will likely struggle but the Kings are going to score a lot of points.
LaVine’s contract played a part in why Sacramento was able to get him for this price and it is a tricky one. In the 3rd year of a 5yr/$212 million deal he signed in July of 2022, the Bulls desperately wanted off of his deal at this point last year. However, LaVine has been so good this season that remaining 2yrs/$96 million is not that bad. The issue is that he has a $48 million player option after next season so a 3-year deal can become an expiring contract pretty quickly. If LaVine plays like this for the Kings for the next year and a half, which Sacramento is hoping he will do, he can opt-out and become a free agent leading to him needing a new contract. Is Sacramento really going to commit another long term deal to LaVine who will be 30 next month? LaVine’s contract is something to keep an eye on going forward.
Was this really the best LaVine offer the Bulls were going to get? I thought one first round pick would be all Chicago got due to LaVine’s contract but this seems like a light return. The players they got are just salary fillers, they won’t have a long term impact in Chicago. Tre Jones is the best of the bunch but he is a free agent at season's end and with all the guards Chicago has, is Jones long for the Windy City? They could trade him before Thursday’s deadline. Zach Collins can’t get on the court for the Spurs and with $17 million on the books next season, the Bulls are stuck with him now. Kevin Huerter is having a rough season, 7.9 points per game on 30% from three is nasty stuff and he will need to rebuild his value in Chicago over the next season and a half. Getting their own pick back is nice but they couldn’t also get their own second round pick as well? This trade allows the Bulls to now tank and start the rebuild that they desperately need to but this return just is not very good.
Back to back days with blockbuster trades. While this wasn’t quite the size of the trade that the Mavericks, Lakers and Jazz made, this is still a big trade with a lot of layers to it. I am excited to start seeing how all of these pieces fit on their new teams.
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