Spurs' dream scenario for 2025 NBA Trade Deadline

01/30/2025 10:18 PM

The San Antonio Spurs can expedite their rebuild by acquiring De’Aaron Fox. As an unrestricted free agent in 2026, the former All-NBA guard has significant leverage in finding his landing spot. Fox’s preferred destination is San Antonio, where he can team with Victor Wembanyama, via ESPN’s Shams Charania.

While franchises like the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets loom large in the De’Aaron Fox sweepstakes, joining forces with Wembanyama is likely the former All-Star’s best path to a championship ring. A resolution may come before the NBA trade deadline passes on Feb. 6, but there’s a case the optimal path for the Spurs is acquiring Fox in the summer.

San Antonio is 20-24. Not only is the team that calls the Alamo City home on the outside looking in at the Western Conference play-in tournament, but they’re in the bottom 10 in the NBA standings.

Maybe maintaining the status quo leads to favorable luck at the draft lottery, netting them a prized prospect like Cooper Flagg or Ace Bailey. This class also appears deep enough for the Spurs to add another promising young player while selecting in the back half of the top ten.

However, even with the advantage of being Fox’s preferred destination, the Sacramento Kings may find an offer elsewhere they’re willing to accept by the NBA trade deadline. The Rockets and Nets have the ammunition to get a deal done now.

So, while San Antonio might be better off waiting until the summer, it’s a luxury they may not have. Furthermore, the Spurs have four first-round picks this year. Granted, the one owed to them by the Charlotte Hornets is lottery-protected. The one from the Chicago Bulls, who are 20-28 and tenth in the Eastern Conference, is top-10 protected.

But they also have an unprotected pick courtesy of the Atlanta Hawks. At 22-25, Atlanta is ninth in the East and is now without Jalen Johnson for the season due to a torn labrum. Johnson’s absence makes the Hawks’ pick significantly more valuable.

Spurs’ De’Aaron Fox acquisition cost

The Spurs can offer the Kings a package along the lines of Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle, and multiple first-round picks, starting with one in this year’s draft. The Kings would surely want Atlanta’s 2025 first-round selection.

Vassell is a 24-year-old six-foot-five wing that’s impactful at both ends of the floor. He’s averaging 16.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.2 steals. He’s also knocking down 37.9 percent of the 6.3 threes he’s hoisting.

Castle, the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, is generating 11.9 points, 3.5 assists, and nearly a steal per game. The six-foot-six guard is a versatile defender who’s disruptive on and off the ball. He’s also a productive facilitator.

While it will sting for Sacramento to lose Fox, that appears unavoidable. Moving forward with two talented young players to pair with Keegan Murray and Devin Carter and added draft capital that could include a top pick this year via the Hawks could pave the way to a promising future.

It would also make sense for the Kings to part with Domantas Sabonis to continue acquiring assets that will help them in the long term.

Evaluating a De’Aaron Fox, Victor Wembanyama pairing

Adding Fox would give San Antonio an infusion of speed and one of the NBA’s fastest players with the ball in his hands. He’s also more of a downhill threat than Chris Paul, which would lead to more lobs for Wembanyama.

While Fox would immediately boost an offense in the middle of the pack – ranking 15th in points per game (112.1), making them more potent in transition and the half-court – it will take time, continued internal development, and further roster tinkering for the Spurs to maximize this move.

Acquiring Fox now might not even get them into the play-in tournament. They’re currently 2.5 games behind the tenth-seeded Kings. While San Antonio would likely move past Sacramento, it would also have to leap-frog the Golden State Warriors, who share the same 24-23 record as the Kings.

Even if the Spurs reach the play-in tournament, that field currently includes the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and Dallas Mavericks. Even with Fox in the fold, the former advancing to the playoffs is far from guaranteed.

Still, Fox understands the importance of being first among the All-Star caliber players that will now start angling to team with Wembanyama. And the Spurs might miss out on a great opportunity if they’re reluctant to get a deal done by the NBA trade deadline.

So, while acquiring Fox isn’t the final touch that catapults San Antonio to an NBA title, he and Wembanyama could evolve into a championship duo that leads the Spurs back to the NBA mountaintop.

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