May De’Aaron Fox reunite with Jordi Fernandez in Brooklyn?
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday that the Sacramento Kings may doubtlessly commerce the All-Star guard forward of the NBA’s Feb. 6 commerce deadline. The 27-year-old has spent the primary eight years of his profession in Sacramento and has averaged 25.2 factors, 5.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists throughout 43 video games this season.
If traded, the San Antonio Spurs are extensively thought-about Fox’s most popular vacation spot, however there will definitely be different suitors across the league lining as much as purchase him, and the Nets have sufficient property to get a deal executed. He’s scheduled to hit free company following the 2025-26 season, so the primary precedence of no matter workforce will get him can be to signal him to a long-term deal. Brooklyn is projected to have loads of cap area this offseason as effectively.
Fernandez served because the Kings’ affiliate head coach beneath former head coach Mike Brown from 2022-24, so he’s had a working relationship with Fox for some time now. Nevertheless, regardless that the Nets have the property and cap area to accommodate a expertise similar to Fox proper now, dashing a deal forward of the commerce deadline will not be within the workforce’s greatest curiosity.
The Nets have the fifth-worst document within the NBA at 14-33 getting into Wednesday’s highway sport towards the Charlotte Hornets. As losers of seven straight video games, they’ve put plenty of effort into their tank and are just some proportion factors away from having the perfect odds at touchdown the No. 1 total choose within the 2025 NBA Draft.
Fox is certainly a floor-raiser, and touchdown a participant of his caliber will damage the franchise’s final aim of drafting a high expertise this summer season. Brooklyn can have 4 first-round alternatives on June 25, and it doesn’t make a lot sense to accumulate a star till it is aware of the place the chips fall and the way these new gamers match into Fernandez’s system.
The Kings will need future property, younger expertise, or each, in trade for Fox. The Nets aren’t constructed to win now, they’ve a uncommon likelihood to rebuild their workforce organically, so why would they sacrifice progress now? Brooklyn has 15 first-round picks over the subsequent seven years. Blowing them in 12 months 1 of a rebuild, for Fox, isn’t a sensible transfer — particularly with no assure that he’ll re-sign.
If Fox remains to be out there this summer season, maybe the Nets ought to revisit the thought then. Proper now, the franchise wants to remain the course and see how the 2025 draft performs out as an alternative of dashing into a choice. Fox is worthy of consideration, however there might be bigger fish within the sea able to get reeled in.
