De'Aaron Fox may not be on the San Antonio Spurs’ trade block right now, but that hasn’t stopped his name from circling through NBA rumor mills.
The Spurs have made their stance clear: they do not plan to move Fox anytime soon. Even so, the idea that he’ll stick around for the long haul is getting harder to sell after the way things ended in the NBA Finals. Fox, an All-Star just a season ago, managed only 12 points per game when the Spurs needed him most, and his struggles only intensified the questions around his future.
The bigger issue is the fit. Fox’s minutes and salary are already creating friction with Dylan Harper, who is viewed as the Spurs’ long-term co-star alongside Victor Wembanyama.
Stephon Castle can fit next to either guard, but Harper is the one who needs the ball in his hands more often than not. That makes Fox’s place in the rotation feel increasingly temporary.
A year after San Antonio gave him a four-year maximum extension, the possibility that Fox won’t be part of the team’s next core is starting to look real. The expectation around the league is that the Spurs understand they’ll probably trade him, either before the February deadline or next summer, but not before then. For now, they need him engaged and productive so his value can climb.
Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes framed it bluntly: "Fox's playoff struggles came after an All-Star season and were owed largely to a sprained ankle, but that doesn't change the bigger-picture concern that he's in the way of two more valuable young players in Castle and Harper while also clogging up the books through 2029-30 when he'll earn a ridiculous $61.4 million," wrote Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
He added, "Any rational view of San Antonio's long-term future does not include the version of Fox we saw in the playoffs. Unless he puts together one of the best seasons of his career, it'll become difficult to see him in the Spurs' plans beyond this year."
A return to the value that once brought in three first-round picks feels unlikely at this point, but the Spurs’ priorities are shifting anyway. With the second apron approaching, moving Fox’s contract would help San Antonio clear salary and ease the financial squeeze.
Fox is not out the door yet, and there’s still time for him to change the conversation. But the pressure is there, and the countdown has already started.
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