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February 1, 2025, 5:48 pm
The big news of the week was De’Aaron Fox… not necessarily submitting a real trade request, but letting it be known that he’s probably not sticking around in Sacramento past his current contract. It puts a new big fish on the market, with Fox joining Jimmy Butler as the two best players expected to be on the move at this point in time. Fox hasn’t been shy about letting his dissatisfaction slip, and Kings management hasn’t come forward to face any music in the wake of the big decisions during this disappointing season. Fox has been forced to answer questions that aren’t his to answer and a quick glance at the roster and the league landscape was enough to tip the final domino over.
With new CBA penalties set to kick in that will make it difficult for teams to hoard multiple players on gargantuan salaries, Fox may be seeing into the crystal ball a bit and trying to force his way out before it gets complicated for the rest of the league. It also forces teams to make a decision about which expensive player is worth all those assets at this deadline; Fox or Butler? Rumors that San Antonio is his preferred destination are already percolating and while Fox may not be the pick-and-roll maestro to pair with Victor Wembanyama, it’s hard to deny the potential of the combo.
Fantasy-wise, there isn’t much to do but wait. There are no guarantees that Fox moves by Thursday as the Kings could wait until the offseason when teams have more time to shuffle their rosters and salary structures around. For now, you can speculate on what might happen if he moves. Keon Ellis makes for a great stash and is already inching towards 12-team relevance anyway, though that presupposes that a young guard isn’t part of the return. On the flip side, if Fox’s wish is granted and he does go to San Antonio, Stephon Castle’s outlook could swing wildly. If the Spurs refuse to deal him he suddenly gets crowded out. If he heads to the Kings, he’ll be a strong pickup. Chris Paul, and to a lesser extent, Devin Vassell (and any other Spurs scorer) is twisting in the wind a bit while we wait for this to play out.
Multiply this by a hundred times and you can see how the trade deadline is such a huge inflection point in the fantasy season. One move’s ripple effects can change reality for a handful of players at a time. Buckle up.
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