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De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama.
Fox got his wish and the San Antonio Spurs just got a lot more dangerous with a three-team trade that will send Fox to San Antonio, Zach LaVine from Chicago to Sacramento (keeping that team in the mix for a postseason berth) and players and picks headed to rebuilding Chicago, a trade broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and since confirmed by multiple sources. Here is how the trade shakes out:
Spurs receive: De’Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin
Kings receive: Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first-round picks (2025 Charlotte [which is top-14 protected, meaning it will become second-round picks in 2026 and 2027], 2027 San Antonio, 2031 Minnesota), and three second-round picks.
Bulls receive: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, and they get their own 2025 first-round pick back from San Antonio.
Let’s break this trade down.
• De’Aaron Fox got to his desired destination and now will team up with All-Star Victor Wembanyama to form what should fast become one of the most dangerous teams in the West. Fox’s first step coming off a Wembanyama pick — when Wemby can pop out to the arc or roll hard to the rim — will fast become one of the most difficult two-man games to stop in the NBA.
• San Antonio made this trade without giving up prized rookie Stephon Castle, which was a goal for the franchise. It also creates an interesting challenge going forward for the Spurs coaching staff, as neither Fox nor Castle are particularly good jump shooters at this point and floor spacing will get tight. Come the postseason, teams will pack the paint and dare the San Antonio guards to shoot. While Wembanyama and others can knock down 3-pointers for San Antonio, if Castle and Fox are to be the future at the guard spots both need to improve shooting.
• Seven years ago, Zach LaVine signed an offer sheet to come to Sacramento, but the Bulls matched it and he stayed in Chicago. Now, he is headed to Sacramento after all.
• Vibes in the Sacramento locker room had taken a turn for the worse with all the Fox rumors, putting pressure on the organization to make a trade sooner rather than later, reports Jason Alexander at the Sacramento Bee.
• With LaVine stepping in as a primary perimeter shot creator for the Kings, their offense may get even more dangerous because LaVine is a better 3-point shooter (24 points a game shooting 44.6% from 3 this season). Pair LaVine with Domantas Sabonis and the Kings offense may look different but will not miss a beat. However, LaVine doesn’t help the Kings’ defensive concerns.
• Sacramento is expected to still be aggressive looking for upgrades before the Feb. 6 trade deadline — ownership wants to make the playoffs.
• Golden State had explored trades to bring in one or both of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic from Chicago but the Warriors ultimately decided to focus elsewhere, reports Marc Stein. LaVine ending up in Sacramento is a bit of a surprise because LaVine to the Warriors rumors were hot in league circles days ago.
• There is real motivation for the Spurs to move fast in building a team around Wembanyama because the French phenom is just in his second season and has two more years on his rookie contract (at which point he becomes a no-brainer, Rose-rule 30% of the cap max guy). Much like NFL teams need to build fast around good young quarterbacks before they get too expensive, the Spurs have a window to build this team out now and chase rings sooner rather than later.
• To that end, the Spurs still have a lot of draft picks they can use or trade, including two unprotected ones from Atlanta (2025 and 2027) and six of their own next seven.
• The Bulls are not done dealing, and adding a center in Collins to the mix makes it easier to trade Vucevic somewhere now.
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