Sacramento Kings’ preference in De’Aaron Fox trade revealed

De'Aaron Fox
Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The NBA’s trade deadline is just over a week away, on February 6. So far, De’Aaron Fox and Jimmy Butler are the biggest names with a strong chance of being traded.

On Tuesday, reports surfaced of the Sacramento Kings increasing their efforts to trade De’Aaron Fox. Shortly after, the San Antonio Spurs emerged as the frontrunners to land the former All-Star point guard who led the NBA in steals last season. Now, we have a better idea of what the Kings would want in exchange for trading Fox.

Related: 10 players who could get dealt before Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline

Sacramento Kings seeking ‘win-now’ players for De’Aaron Fox

De'Aaron Fox
Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings signed De’Aaron Fox to a five-year, $163 million contract extension in 2020, but he’s set to become a free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season. The indications are that Fox won’t sign an extension in Sacramento, so the Kings should be able to get better value for him now instead of waiting until the offseason.

The Kings are on pace for their third season finishing above .500, but are sitting in just 10th place in the Western Conference. However, interim coach Doug Christie has provided a boost, leading the Kings to an 11-4 record compared to Mike Brown’s 13-18 start. Thus, the Kings’ chances of snagging a playoff spot continue to improve.

So it’s not like they’re looking to tear it down and start from scratch. They still want to build the best roster possible around Domantas Sabonis and company. How will that stance impact the Fox trade negotiations?

According to ESPN’s NBA insider Shams Charania, the Kings are targeting a specific trade return for their 27-year-old floor general.

“The Kings, so far in conversations with all those teams, they’ve said they want win-now players. They want draft capital as well.”

Charania on De’Aaron Fox trade (h/t RealGM)

If the Kings negotiate with San Antonio, the Spurs have plenty of draft capital they can toss into any deal, and whether they have enough “win-now” players that they’re willing to part with remains to be seen.

From a trade standpoint, San Antonio could offer something like Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones, plus multiple first-round picks. Yet, would that be enough for the Kings to part with their starting point guard?

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