Spurs-Kings-Bulls Trade Characters: How does Fox now fit with Wembanyama?

Less than a week after ESPNS Shams Charania reported that Sacramento Kings were open to trading in all-star guard de’aaron Fox, and that San Antonio Spurs was FOX’s desired destination, the two teams combined with Chicago Bulls on a deal on Sunday , who sent Fox to San Antonio and two-time all-Star Zach Lavine to Sacramento as his replacement.

Sunday’s trade with three teams contains seven players and several first round elections on the go, with Kings getting a few unprotected first round and Bulls got a protected choice this year that could have gone to Spurs.

How did each team make in the trade and what consequences could it have moving forward, including the possibility of more features before Thursday’s trading deadline? Let’s break down Sunday’s trade from all angles.

Jump to a character:
Chicago | Sacramento | San Antonio

San Antonio Spurs sheep:

G de’aaron Fox
G Jordan McLaughlin

Sacramento Kings get:

G zach avalanche
G SIDY CISSOKO
2025 pick in the first round (Top-14 protected; via Charlotte)
2027 Pick in the first round (via San Antonio)
2031 Pick in the first round (via Minnesota)
2025 Second Round Election (Via Chicago)
2028 Second Round (via Denver)
2028 second round (own)

Chicago Bulls sheep:

F Zach Collins
G Three Jones
G Kevin Harter
2025 Pick in the first round (own; via San Antonio)

San Antonio Spurs: A-

Kudos to Spurs to get Fox without sacrificing the ability to continue adding their core. San Antonio managed to hang on to all its young talent to send back a little used backup center Zach Collins as the primary matching salary rather than guards Keldon Johnson or Devin Vassell, both of Spurs’ future.

In addition, San Antonio maintained access to all except one of its own future choices of the first round plus two other valuable assets. The spurs both retained unprotected choices, they have come from Atlanta Hawks, including a this year that looks increasingly promising with Atlanta on an eight-game losing stroke and started Jalen Johnson, who is set to undergo season ending surgery.

In addition, San Antonio Atlanta’s 2027 first round has picked and swap rights to Hawks’ 2026 selection in between, plus swaps in 2028 (Boston, Top-1 protected), 2030 (Dallas or Minnesota) and 2031 (with Sacramento). Factor in Spurs’ young players, and they still have the ability to add a third star if you fit into their salary structure. For the time being, they have committed to pair Wembanyama with Fox, giving their budding superstar a long-lasting pick-and-roll partner.

Over the past three seasons, Fox has been among NBA’s most dangerous pick-and-roll scorers. He ranks eighth among the 80 players with at least 500 attempts during this span by shooting an effective 54% in pick-and-roll situations, per. Second spectrum tracking. Opponents will not turn on Fox-Wembanyama-Pick-and-Rolls, give both players benefits over their defenders, and traditional coverage is likely to give Fox an opportunity to either score or find her big husband.

To create Fox and Wembanyama for success, San Antonio wants to put maximum shooting around them. It was here that the inventory of Vassell was important. Vassell is a 37% career 3-point shooter whose high volumes (6.5 attempts per match) put pressure on conflicting defense. It suggests that Johnson, who shoots 31% from Deep this season and 35% for his career, can be useful. And it puts pressure on the recent first -round election Jeremy Sochan (29% from 3) and Rookie Stephon Castle (27% from 3) to continue to develop beyond the arch.

Handling Fox speeds up the timeline of spurs while allowing them to further assess the value of their young players. In an ideal world, San Antonio could have waited longer to make a step like this. Fox is six years older than 21-year-old Wembanyama and almost seven years older than Castle.

The concern of how Fox can age on his next contract is also understandable as he may need to improve his 3-point shooting to remain an all-star caliber player. He is eligible for an expansion this summer prior to the last year of his contract and could sign along with a renegotiation that uses Spurs’ Cap space, which runs his salary of $ 37.1 million to his expected maximum of $ 46, 4 million.

Players that look like FOX – My Schoene -Projection System highlight Steve Francis as an example based on their production of the same age – has had a tendency to lose value in the 30s.

It is unclear whether a perfect trading goal would ever be made available for spurs, given Fox the team appointed the team as a desired destination. Wembanyama’s prominent ability puts inherent pressure on spurs to build a team capable of making an endgame sooner than later. San Antonio played this right by being aggressive in persecution of Fox without being reckless.

It will be interesting to see if there is time for the spurs to run the play-in tournament this season, considering competition that includes the new look-kings, Dallas Mavericks and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors.

Whatever happens, this agreement is more about creating a spurs for 2025-26 and above. With Wembanyama, San Antonio was already a growing threat to a Western conference full of young teams of high quality. Adding Fox simply moves it closer to reality.

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Sacramento Kings: B-

Do we dare to consider the possibility that the kings will actually improve the rest of this season thanks to this trade? Fox and Lavine have rated similar in most all-in-one statistics this season, and Fox’s games have been bumpy during the 10 matches since returning from a short absence due to a glute contusion at the beginning of January.

During that time, FOX’s utility rate has dipped to 23% of Sacramento’s violation-down from 29% before the damage and he hits only 44% of his 2-point attempts, while also employing his thumb. It’s probably just a slump, but it’s disturbing in the short term.

To some extent, Lay’s 3-point shoot (7.3 attempts per match on a 45% clip this season, up from 39% for his career) Point Shooters in Demar Derozan (2.7 attempts per match) and Domantas Sabonis (2.4 per match, though they do 47% of them).

Of the 40 three-man arrangements that have played at least 750 minutes together this season, according to the NBA Advanced Stats, Kings has four of the 10 lowest 3-point experimental rates that included Derozan-Fox-Sabonis trio. It is hardly fatally offensive, but it sets something of a ceiling on Sacramento’s autumn season.

We already know how well Derozan can fit with avalanche from their three seasons together in Chicago. The avalanche sabonis care must also be natural. Lavine is used to working with a pick-and-pop center in Nikola VUCEVIC and has actually produced more points per day. Chance from his pick-and-rolls this season than Fox’s, per. Second spectrum tracking.

The kings may also need an organizer at the Point Guard or be able to rely on playmaking of the committee, as they did during Fox’s three-game Absence-ALL wins, including one in Boston. Malik Monk was on average a Holdhøj 8.7 assists in this span, as Sacramento used only a nominal point guard, Rookie Devin Carter.

The structure of this trade gives Kings the opportunity to add wages before the deadline. They will be around $ 10.5 million below the luxury tax line with two open security spaces and can use their exception of $ 12.8 million non-tax payer at the level of taking back contracts. Removal of Huerter’s Salary of $ 18 million for 2025-26 also means that Sacramento no longer has to sweat and add wages beyond this season.

This agreement also gives Kings more choices for trading. To say that they acquired three first round of elections, the case exaggerates as one of them is lottery protected from Charlotte Hornets this year. When-not if-hornets miss out on the playoffs, it will convert to elections in the second round of 2026 and 2027 to go with three other second rounds that Sacramento added. For a team that had only a guaranteed second round choice to offer in advance, it is useful trade currency. I had added great value to the unprotected choice that came from Minnesota Timberwolves in 2031, though not as much as San Antonio’s own choice in 2027.

Still, I can’t help but wonder about the paths not chosen here. To a little surprise, the kings prioritized to come back current talent and cap flexibility in terms of maximizing their draft pick return by sending one of the three real first rounds that Spurs surrendered to Bulls for avalanche.

As effective as avalanche has been this season and added to him carries risk. The offer avalanche famous signed with Sacramento as a limited free agent in 2017 – matched by Chicago – contained the protection of the team in case of problems with the Leavy’s left knee after he had an ACL tåre in February 2017 while playing for Timberwolves. Since then, avalanche had arthroscopic surgery on her left knee in May 2022 and had seasonal ending foot surgery last February.

Avalanche has managed to return that looks like the high-flying star that was an all-star in 2021 and 2022. In order for this trade to work, the kings need avalanches to keep it up in the remaining two seasons on its deal out Over 2024 -25.

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Chicago Bulls: B+

Bulls’ side of the trade is a little more positive from the big picture than in terms of details. Moving avalanche while he is healthy and playing well is the kind of realistic self -assessment we haven’t seen from Chicago in recent years when Bulls has resisted to tear a list of a little upside.

Trade avalanche power Create Chicago to make more trades involving veterans before Thursday’s deadline, with center Nikola VUUCEVIC for a strong candidate while playing at a high level and Lonzo Ball in the last year of his contract. I also wonder if Jones is being redirected before the deadline, as Bulls still have an audience in backcourt without avalanche.

In addition to shopping avalanche, Chicago delivered the other two teams in this trade somewhere to send their unwanted wages. Collins and hats earn a total of $ 36 million in 2025-26 and had played a total of 217 minutes in January. Bulls could have created a modest amount of cap space this summer, but now it would probably be better to stay over the cap and use full bird rights on guard Josh Gidde.

Without a doubt, it is the right approach to a Chicago team that is currently eight games below .500 and even in the loss column with the Philadelphia 76ers for the final play-in space in the eastern conference. This group went nowhere, and Bulls’ focus should be on adding their base of young talent instead of chasing a play-in look.

The worst case for Chicago somehow slipped to 11. In the lottery and sent the election to San Antonio to end the trade that brought Derozan to Bulls in the first place. By getting that pick back, Chicago has taken this option off the table and doesn’t have to sweat the lottery any of the next three seasons.

But it is worth considering whether Bulls may have appreciated the return of their own choices more than a similar choice from another team. It is possible depending on how Chicago rebuilds that the spurs may never have been given the election, which would have converted to a 2028 second round election after top-8 protection in 2026 and 2027.

Still, I don’t want to stumble much with the Bulls making a step with a longer view than we’re used to seeing. And it is possible that Chicago could get more out of this trade by rehabilitating the value of the hats. His decline from an important part of Sacramento’s playoff team from 2023 by shooting a career high 40% from 3 to do only 30% beyond the arch this season has been mysterious.

Hares are a 37.5% career 3-point shooter, so it is 2024-25 that is the outlier much more than 2022-23. Maybe a change of scenes will help huts get back on track.