It hasn’t been exactly 24 hours but NBA insider Shams Charania reports another NBA blockbuster trade. De’Aaron Fox gets traded to the San Antonio Spurs while Zach LaVine lands with the Sacramento Kings. Considering the NBA Trade deadline is fast approaching, what can we expect from this change?
Kings & Spurs Strengthen Playoff Push, Bulls Rebuild Begins
Similar to the trade that happened yesterday which featured Anthony Davis of the Lakers getting traded for Luka Doncic of the Mavericks, the tweet made by Shams was backed up by the report of fellow NBA insider Chris Haynes. This time, the teams behind this trade are the Kings, Spurs, and Bulls. Both the Kings and the Spurs are strengthening their lineup for a deep playoff run and potentially winning a title while the Bulls are slowly transitioning into a rebuilding team.
Here’s the full trade:
Spurs Receive: De’Aaron Fox and Jordan McLaughlin
Kings Receive: Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko 3 first-round picks (CHA 2025*, SAS 2027, MIN 2031) and 3 second-round picks (CHI 2025, DEN 2028, SAS 2025)
Bulls Receive: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, and their own 2025 first-round pick back from the Spurs
Playoff Dreams & Draft Hopes: What This Trade Means
Quite similar to the Lakers and Mavericks, both the Kings and Spurs have made it clear that these moves that they have made signifies that they want to win the NBA championship this season. While the Chicago Bulls, similar to the Jazz being involved in the Lakers and Mavs trade, are also letting go of their valuable pieces in order to tank the potential number overall pick of the NBA 2025 Draft, Cooper Flagg of Duke University.
For the Kings, this ends the Fox era for them which lasted for 8 years and a half. He was drafted by the Kings all the way back to the 2017-18 season and was able to make their franchise go to the playoffs as the #3 seed which lost to 7 games in the hands of Stephen Curry and the rest of the Golden State Warriors during the 2022-23 season. In his entire stint as a King, he averaged 21.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 0.4 blocks, and 1.4 steals, shooting 74.4% from the charity stripe, 33.3% from beyond the arc and 47.1% from the field. He has played 45 out of the 48 games for the Sacramento Kings this season.
This also marks the end of the Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox tandem which started all the way back in the 2021-22 season. The duo failed to win the championship as they’ve only reached the Playoffs once. The addition of the 2x Slam Dunk Champion, Zach LaVine gives them the much-needed depth and veteran leadership in the Guard/Forward position.
LaVine, similar to Fox, has spent 8 years and a half as a member of the Chicago Bulls. This season, he has averaged 24 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.5 APG, 0.9 SPG, 79.7% from the Free Throw line, and 51.1% in the field. He has played 42 out of the 50 games for the Bulls. With the departure of De’Aaron Fox, the Kings are short-handed in the Point Guard position as Malik Monk, rookie Devin Carter, and Keon Ellis would now have to shoulder playing the #1 and roughly the #2. But the trio of Keegan Murray, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach LaVine in the wings will surely give headaches to their opponents. DeRozan was also a former Bull and signed a new deal in Sacramento before the 2024-25 season began. Sacramento sits at #10 in the West standings.
For the Spurs, this move has given them the chance to make noise in the Playoffs. The “tanking era” of San Antonio has ended and they want to reclaim their long-lost glory. The “Chris Paul effect” must do wonders for this squad as they now have the trio of veteran guard Chris Paul, leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox in his prime. The Spurs are currently the #12 seed in the West and are planning to jump back into the Play-In contention.
For the Bulls fans out there, this is another ugly sight to watch. LaVine is gone, DeRozan is gone and it will be a matter of team before Coby White, Lonzo Ball, or Nikola Vucevic get traded to another team. With rotation players now in their lineup, they are one or two moves away from officially tanking.
Who Won the Trade?
Both the Sacramento Kings and the San Antonio Spurs have clearly won this trade. They both are somehow guaranteed to at least make the Play-In Tournament with the moves they made. Spurs are a young team but have the veteran leadership guidance in order to potentially win a title while the Kings are a team full of veterans and are in their prime to win the championship as well. Their futures are also safe as the Kings landed a lot of draft picks in losing their franchise player while the Spurs have a lot of talented young players making sure their future is being “taken care of in proper hands.”
Loser? The Bulls. But it’s not too late for them as they would just need to give up their quality players in exchange for multiple 1st round and 2nd round picks in order to be good again.
Now that there are only a few days left before the NBA Trade deadline closes, there are certainly plenty more “business decision moves” that fans can expect from their favorite teams in the “National Business Association”.
