The San Antonio Spurs may not be finished tinkering with their roster after a busy offseason, and De’Aaron Fox has surfaced as the kind of player who could be moved for the right deal. With Victor Wembanyama now signed to an extension, the Spurs could have reasons to get creative with their money and their roster construction.
That’s where Brandon Ingram enters the conversation.
In the latest trade idea, San Antonio would not need to attach extra assets to land him, which makes the concept stand out from the usual Fox trade chatter. The appeal is straightforward: Fox brings scoring, but he also stands out as the weak link on a defense that has been described as arguably the best in the league. The Knicks, according to the source, exposed that in the finals.
As Jason Burgos wrote, “It is understandable if the Spurs feel they have a strong roster, especially after some of the offseason moves they have made, and can finish the story next season. However, while Fox is a legit scoring force, he is the one weak link in a defense that is arguably the best in the league. The Knicks exposed that often in the finals.
“Ingram is not an elite defender. However, the two-time All-Star has the potential to be a pretty good one when he wants to be.
Plus, he is a player who has scored 21 or more points a night for the last seven seasons. So the Spurs would not lose much offensively by swapping him for Fox,” Jason Burgos wrote.
Ingram was recently moved to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a deal for Kawhi Leonard, though that trade has not been finalized yet. The fit is understandable on paper, but the source also notes a concern: Ingram shares some of the same issues as Fox, including not necessarily projecting as a great second option.
In Other News...
Spurs Suddenly Face A Real De'Aaron Fox Contract Problem
De'Aaron Fox gave the Spurs the kind of postseason burst they were hoping for at the start, but the finish line looked a lot different. His play tailed off in the Western Conference Finals and then dropped again in the NBA Finals, enough to revive the old concerns that have followed him into San Antonio: whether the speed that made him such a dangerous guard is starting to fade, and whether that matters even more now that the games are at their biggest.
It is not just a short-term wobble, either. Fox is on a max deal worth $221.7 million over the next four years, and that kind of money changes the conversation fast when the production is uneven. Around the league, his contract has already drawn harsh reviews, which leaves the Spurs with a tricky question as they build around Victor Wembanyama: if Fox is not quite the co-star they envisioned, what exactly is the best way to use him? [Read more 🡒]
Julian Champagnie's Extension Signals A Bigger Spurs Squeeze Is Coming
Julian Champagnies new extension is another sign the Spurs are trying to thread a very narrow financial needle as they build around Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. San Antonio chose a three-year, $45 million commitment rather than a longer one, a tell that the front office is already planning for the cap squeeze that comes with keeping a young core intact while preserving room for future moves.
The bigger picture is less about Champagnie alone than the way the Spurs are staggering contract decisions to avoid painting themselves into a corner. Every extension, every expiration date and every roster choice now has to fit a long-range plan, and that means the team is weighing how much flexibility it can afford to give up before the next wave of decisions arrives. [Read more 🡒]