2) NBA Trades: The Spurs land De'Aaron Fox in potential deal with the Kings
All eyes are on the Sacramento Kings to see whether they will move on from star De'Aaron Fox. If he does become available, then the Spurs could be among the suitors to land him. Aside from the Houston Rockets, the Spurs have far and away the most trade assets of the rumored teams pursuing Fox. Barring a bidding war between the two in-state rivals, it is fairly easy to guess what San Antonio might be willing to offer the Kings.
San Antonio could offer the Kings rookie Stephen Castle, Keldon Johnson, Tre Jones, Chicago's 2025 first-round pick, Atlanta's 2025 first, and the rights to Sacramento's 2031 pick swap back. That would be a highly competitive offer that would allow Sacramento to retool without completely having to rebuild post-Fox.
They would get a stopgap point guard in Jones and a long-term option in Castle, as well as a solid wing in Johnson. Factor in two potential lottery picks from Chicago and Atlanta and the rights to their own 2031 pick back, and the Kings might have to consider trading Fox to San Antonio this season.
Adding Fox would be both a long-term get for the Spurs as well as for a short-term playoff push. With Paul and potentially his final season with the Spurs, Fox could slide in a point guard next season in San Antonio.
In the short term, he could slot in next to Paul in the starting lineup and form a talented backcourt with Paul being able to play both on and off the ball as needed while Fox is able to focus more on scoring. The Spurs are in serious need of a secondary offensive weapon, with the gap between Wembanyama and their second-leading scorer being more than 10 points per game.
That is an obvious flaw with their roster, and in any game in which Wembanyama struggles, San Antonio has virtually no chance of winning. While that is true of almost any team and their best player, the Spurs are more susceptible since they have a lack of spacing, which makes it harder for them to score than it otherwise should be.
After all, they rank 18th in offensive rating despite having one of the more efficient high scorers in the NBA this season. Having Fox makes the Spurs much harder to guard with him being able to reliably create offense for himself and others, especially in the clutch, where he often ranks among the best closers in the NBA.
After having several close losses to playoff teams, the Spurs need a closer to help generate good shots in the clutch, and Fox appears to be that player. Wembanyama, to his credit, often makes big shots during the fourth quarter and in overtime, and the two of them, paired together, would be incredibly difficult to stop with the game on the line. He is also just 27 years old, meaning Fox is just about to enter his prime and hopefully would be at his peak if the Spurs were to acquire him.