It’s hard to see a world where the San Antonio Spurs escape the De’Aaron Fox trade rumors. Ever since the season ended, the Spurs have been firm that there are no plans to send him away…yet.
With extensions on the horizon for Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, the clock is ticking. Fox is owed $229 million over the next four seasons. By the time his contract is in its final year, Harper will no longer be on his rookie contract, so the Spurs will presumably owe massive salaries to Fox, Castle, Harper, and Victor Wembanyama.
Even after Wemby took a pay cut, paying all four players anywhere close to market value is impossible.
So the Spurs don’t have to trade away Fox yet, but they will have to soon. After the NBA Finals, his value is at an all-time low, but there is a depserate team whom the Spurs could take advantage of.
Plus, it might appease an NBA superpower.
Rich Paul Wins NBA Mock Trade
In late 2024, Fox was at his wits’ end. The Sacramento Kings were treading water, and it was clear that the franchise’s future was bleak. Coming up on the end of his contract, he had some bargaining power and demanded a trade.
Mega agent Rich Paul helped Fox force his way to San Antonio.
Now that Fox is disposable, it would be easy for the Spurs to simply ship him to the highest bidder (whoever that might be) and clean their hands of everything. However, that might sour Paul on them.
Paul’s agency, Klutch Sports, oversees hundreds of athletes, and Paul is the personal agent for 41 NBA players. In short, if you’re going to make an enemy, it shouldn’t be him.
If appeasing Paul is a priority, then the Spurs should trade Fox for another client of his. Even with Harper and Castle on the roster, without Fox, the Spurs would be lacking some ball-handling. The Los Angeles Clippers might be able to help solve their problems.
The Spurs could send De’Aaron Fox and four second-round picks to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Darius Garland.
Garland, it seems, is on the trade block, and the Spurs are an ideal landing spot.
Garland is a much better shooter than Fox and has experience playing alongside ball-dominant guys like Donovan Mitchell and Kawhi Leonard. He could be the lead guard for the Spurs, or play off-ball alongside Harper and/or Castle.
Plus, he only has two years left on his contract, so the Spurs could trot him out for two seasons and then cut ties with him, reinvesting that money into their young core.
Would the Clippers go for it? They’d be saddled with Fox’s contract, but it’s not like they’re going to win games anytime soon. Plus, with five first-round picks stripped in the wake of the Aprisation scandal, the Clippers should be foaming at the mouth for any draft capital, even second-round picks.
This deal salvages as much of the Clippers’ future as they can reasonably expect, keeps the Spurs’ window open, and allows them to plan for the future. Plus, Rich Paul is kept happy. One of his players gets sent to the Spurs, and the other is given a chance to stat-pad in LA and make his next contract as lucrative as possible.
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