De’Aaron Fox gives NSFW response to Team Bagley Twitter beef after Kings’ loss to Warriors
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox offered a not-safe-for-work response when asked about the social media drama surrounding the team Monday night following an unsightly 137-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
“I don’t think anybody’s out there playing basketball worried about two tweets, and if you are, this ain’t what you should be doing because motherf------ are going to tweet you every day of your life while you’re playing in this league,” Fox said. “So if that’s what you’re worried about then I don’t know what to tell you.”
The Kings (3-4) are searching for answers after losing three in a row as they prepare to open a seven-game homestand against the Chicago Bulls (3-4) on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center. Over the past 48 hours, they’ve had to address questions about a social media post from Marvin Bagley III’s father, who demanded a trade on Twitter during Saturday’s loss to the Houston Rockets. Fox’s father later joined the fray with a hot take of his own, tweeting: “Trade him.”
Fox acknowledged meeting briefly with Bagley and coach Luke Walton to discuss the issue, but he said it was not a concern and not a factor in the Kings’ loss to the Warriors.
“Me, Marvin and Luke talked for like five seconds because it wasn’t a big deal,” Fox said. “You’re playing basketball. If you’re thinking about anything that somebody said on Twitter then this ain’t for you. I would 100% completely honest with you tell you that nobody’s thinking about that while we’re on the court.”
Fox finished with 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting with seven assists, four rebounds and three steals against the Warriors. Bagley grabbed nine rebounds but scored only five points on 2-of-9 shooting. He didn’t make his first basket until the final minute of the third quarter.
Bagley was made available to the media Sunday, but he wouldn’t discuss the social media controversy and declined an opportunity to dispel the notion that he wants to be traded.
Walton dismissed the idea that off-court distractions contributed to the team’s poor performance against Golden State.
“I don’t think that was part of our play tonight,” Walton said. “We just played bad basketball.”
Walton also downplayed the issue before the game, saying he didn’t believe it was necessary to address the subject as a team.
“If it becomes a team issue then we’ll discuss it as a team, but I don’t see it as that,” Walton said. “Our team issue for tonight is Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. That’s where all of our energy and efforts are going. If anything ever starts to impact the game, then I’ll look at it as a team issue that needs to be talked about and addressed, but right now we don’t have any of those.”
The Kings went 3-1 to start the season, but they have struggled without rookie first-round draft pick Tyrese Haliburton, who missed the past two games with a bone bruise in his left wrist. Walton said Haliburton participated in shooting drills before Monday’s game. An official update on his status is expected in the next day or so.
Kings forward Glenn Robinson III said Harrison Barnes addressed the team following the loss to the Warriors, reminding teammates of the effort and communication they demonstrated in early wins over the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns.
“I like the group we have,” Robinson said. “I like the locker room we have. I think collectively we’ve got to get back to what we’ve been doing. Those first three games, the communication on the court, we were talking and that let me know that we all had each other’s back at every moment. We’ve got to bring that same friendship, that same care, that brotherly love that we have in the locker room, and bring it on the court every single night.”
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "De’Aaron Fox gives NSFW response to Team Bagley Twitter beef after Kings’ loss to Warriors."
