The NBA trade market remained active on Sunday night as the San Antonio Spurs completed a three-team trade with the Sacramento Kings and Chicago Bulls to acquire star guard De’Aaron Fox.
In exchange for Fox, the Kings received three first-round picks, three second-round picks, and guard Zach Lavine from the Bulls, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
Chicago walked away from this trade with Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, and their own 2025 first-round draft selection.
The Spurs also acquired Jordan McLaughlin in the trade, who has averaged just 1.9 points per game this season and was likely included to help match salaries.
Fox had recently informed the Kings of his intent to leave in free agency and his desire to be traded to another team, specifically pointing to San Antonio as a preferred destination.
The eighth-year guard has spent his entire career in Sacramento to this point and has been one of the best players in the league this season, averaging 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game this season.
Fox posted a farewell to Sacramento shortly after the trade was announced, relishing his time with the organization that drafted him fifth overall in 2017.
“Coming in as a 19-year-old kid and leaving as a 27-year-old man, I’m grateful I got to spend the beginning of my young adulthood here. The love for the city is unmatched,” he wrote in an Instagram post on Monday morning.
“To the fans — y’all deserve the best. I wanted to end my career here and never expected it would end this way, but I’ll always be grateful for your support.”
Fox is now set to join one of the most exciting young teams in the Western Conference, teaming up with second-year superstar Victor Wembanyama on a team competing for a spot in the playoffs.
San Antonio is currently 12th in the Western Conference standings but is just two games behind Sacramento for the final play-in spot.
The Spurs also managed to accomplish this trade while giving up very few of their main trade assets, holding on to players such as Stephon Castle, Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassell, and Keldon Johnson.
As a result, San Antonio could pursue another move to add a meaningful contributor at the forward position, which would help ease the guard rotation while adding more defense and shooting along the wings.
Regardless, this trade and potential contract extension set the Spurs up incredibly well for the next few seasons, as Fox and Wembanyama have the potential to be one of the most dominant duos in the league as they continue to mature on the court.