5 Moves by Kings GM McNair that finally flipped the franchise

Moves by Kings McNair that finally flipped the Franchise: Locking up De’Aaron Fox

One of the very first things Monte McNair did as the Sacramento Kings GM involved a very tough decision regarding the future of (at the time) potential franchise player DeAaron Fox. Fox was due for an extension and was coming off the best season of his young NBA career.

There was a lot to like and many reasons to see him as the franchise player. The hard part at the time was there were a lot more people wanted and needed to see from Fox. Unfortunately for McNair, he didn’t have time to see more before needing to lock up Fox or risk letting him leave the franchise.

McNair could have easily wanted to move on from Fox. Sure he was coming off a career-best season but he wasn’t a player specifically drafted by McNair and because of that, wasn’t ‘his guy’.

That did not matter to McNair. He saw the talent of Fox and knew what he could bring to Kings franchise. Not just in the box score but as a face to help turn around the entire outlook of the franchise.

McNair gave Fox a massive five-year extension that married him to the franchise for five more years. Fox hadn’t made an all-star team. He hadn’t been the leader of a winning team let alone on one at all in the NBA.

Nothing deterred McNair from seeing what he was and what he could be in the right environment. By locking him up, McNair started his tenure as GM with a franchise player that he could build his team around. In 2023, it’s clear he made the right choice and the franchise would be in a very different place if Fox wasn’t leading the way/