When Stephen Noh at The Sporting News put together a list of the 11 worst contracts in the NBA, he highlighted two current Sacramento Kings. On top of that, he had former Kings De'Aaron Fox on the list, pointing out that he is going to cost the Spurs a lot of money with decreasing long-term benefit.
Just over a year ago, Fox demanded a trade from the Kings after seven and a half seasons as the team's starting point guard and the face of the franchise. The firing of former head coach Mike Brown mere weeks earlier was the final straw for Fox, who had devoted himself to the Kings.
The Spurs seemed be a good fit for him. This is the team with the last two Rookies of the Year on it in Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, who are two major positives. On top of that, they have a roster of great players built around them that have proven to be a challenge even for the Thunder.
De'Aaron Fox may not be what the Spurs need in the long-term
Trading for Fox was a smart move. He is an experienced point guard who still has miles of tread left on the tires. Once he got through the injuries, De'Aaron delivered exactly that to what is a generally younger team. Stephen Noh is calling all of that into question with his current league analysis.
Fox came in at number four on this list of bad contracts in the NBA. His contract will earn him $260.2 million, but Noh's analysis values him at $168.2 million. That's a difference of nearly $100 million, which is kind of a problem in the era of stiff salary caps and apron levels with penalties.
The guard has an extension that kicks in for the 2026-2027 season, which bumps his salary up significantly. It will continue to rise as he ages, and his value on the court decreases. This is amplified by the fact that the Spurs have two great young point guards, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
The Kings were likely right to move on
It gets real when Fox becomes more expensive and harder to trade, and the Spurs end up having to make choices about who stays and who goes to stay out of the apron penalties. San Antonio is building something right now, but Fox could get in the way of that if they don't move him.
Fox Is not going to return to Sacramento. The Kings are in a rebuild phase that is aimed at moving past the Beam Team Era, which De'Aaron was central to. They also don't want any big, long-term contracts on the books. They have enough of that with Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine.
From this perspective, moving on from Fox last season was definitely the right move. He's a solid player, but he's not playing at the same level as his contract. It would have been another issue the Kings had to deal with as they planned for a better future.