De’Aaron Fox reportedly not asking Kings for trade, but will he sign extension to stay?

De’Aaron Fox did not sign a three-year, $165 million extension with the Kings last summer, but that was mostly a financial move. Next July, Fox could sign a four-year, $229 million extension to stay in Sacramento (it works out to an average of $2.25 million more a season than the extension he did not sign, plus he gets an extra year of security).

But it’s not all about the money, according to a report from Sam Amick of The Athletic. The Kings are 13-15 on the season and looking up at the play-in in the deep Western Conference. Fox wants to win, and he has to decide if that can happen in Sacramento long term or if he should force his way out — and if he does, the Spurs are among the teams lurking.

“While league sources say Fox has not asked for a trade, the former All-Star and his prominent agent are reading the room in Sacramento before deciding what comes next. Fox, who hired Paul in November 2022, has another season left on his current deal…

“And now, the prospect of him declining an extension again this summer — or perhaps telling them ahead of time that he plans on doing so — would inevitably force the Kings to consider trading Fox rather than losing him for nothing in free agency two summers from now.

“Meanwhile, rival executives are monitoring the Fox situation closely and league sources say one team in particular — the San Antonio Spurs — is positioning itself to pursue the Houston native as a possible partner for Victor Wembanyama, should Fox become available.”

This is not fair to Kings fans, who have been through enough. Also, Fox has praised the Kings organization and the fans in Sacramento before, saying he would love to be one of those players who spends his entire career with one team. Also, the Kings can offer more money than any other team, which is difficult to walk away from.

Fox’s agent, Rich Paul, was in Sacramento to talk to the team’s management about the organization’s future and Fox’s place in it, Amick reported, and part of what agents do is try to get their clients in the best possible position for them. From Fox’s perspective, would he be willing to give up some of those Sacramento dollars to be on the San Antonio stage with Victor Wembanyama? That team can potentially be a title contender in a couple of years, which must be tempting. If Fox tried to force a trade it wouldn’t just be Sacramento that steps up, a host of teams would make offers, but that is where Paul comes in as an agent trying to steer the process (Fox would have the leverage of threatening not to re-sign with certain teams if they trade for him).

While it’s not impossible for this to play out before the trade deadline, the more likely scenario is that this is a summer decision one way or another. Those kinds of multi-player, massive trades are more problematic to make work in-season (with tighter roster size restrictions). But this is something to watch.