Potential De’Aaron Fox trade could make star player reconsider future with Sacramento Kings
De’Aaron Fox might not be the only player questioning his future with the Sacramento Kings.
Kings forward DeMar DeRozan expressed his own uncertainty Wednesday during an episode of FanDuel’s “Run It Back” podcast with Michelle Beadle, Lou Williams and Danny Green.
DeRozan shared his thoughts in response to a question from Williams, who asked the six-time All-Star about the possibility of Fox being traded before the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline.
“I want to ask you a real question, a tough question,” Williams said. “You chose Sacramento this offseason over the likes of a lot of different teams. If Fox is traded, do you reconsider your future with the organization?”
DeRozan’s response might raise eyebrows in Sacramento.
“Yeah, it’s tough because looking at the landscape, before I came here, those are the guys I talked to was Fox, Domas (Domantas Sabonis) and Malik (Monk),” DeRozan said. “Those are the core guys that made it easy for me to make my decision to play here, and a key player, a key juggernaut in Fox, not knowing the future of that, it does make it tough.
“I don’t have much time left. I’m not trying to play another five years to try to maximize the opportunity we have now to play with a great team. You never know. When the dominoes fall the wrong way when it comes to an organization, it makes it tough. It’s something we’ve just got to wait out and see, but in the meantime make the most out of it, so we’ll see how it pans out.”
DeRozan, 35, came to Sacramento in a three-team sign-and-trade deal after agreeing to a three-year, $74 million contract with the Kings. The Kings entered the season with high hopes, but things haven’t gone as planned.
The Kings (24-23) are 10th in the Western Conference as they prepare to visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday in the fifth game of a six-game road trip. They have lost three of their last four after going 10-2 in their first 12 games under interim coach Doug Christie, who took the helm when Mike Brown was fired Dec. 27.
Fox, who is in the fourth year of a five-year, $163 million contract, has expressed his desire to “compete at a high level.” Now in his eighth season with the Kings, the 27-year-old guard has seemingly lost faith in the team’s direction two years after ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history.
Fox has been unwilling to sign a contract extension with the Kings. His agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, recently sent word that it would be wise for the Kings to trade him now, sources told The Athletic’s Sam Amick.
DeRozan said he hasn’t spoken to Fox about his situation in Sacramento since the Kings opened trade talks earlier this week.
“I haven’t talked to him,” DeRozan said. “... I think for the most part, when you’re inside, we just treat everybody like a brother. We’ve always been supportive of whatever anybody is going through, teammates, but a lot of times we don’t let the business of basketball distract us in a sense. It really hasn’t been discussed to be honest with you.
“I know it can be a headache on him dealing with something like that, but for me personally, somebody who’s been traded, who understands the business of it, it comes with it, especially when contract talks are involved or something isn’t signed. You deal with stuff like this, but for the most part we support our brother. We’re there for him. We treat it like any other day.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 1:15 PM.
