Rich Paul reveals De'Aaron Fox never wanted to leave Sacramento, shattering narratives surrounding his blockbuster trade and true motivations.
The Sacramento Kings and 2023 All-Star point guard De'Aaron Fox reached a fairly quick resolution prior to the 2024-25 trade deadline, as the star guard was shipped to the San Antonio Spurs in a franchise-altering three-team deal including the Chicago Bulls.
Sacramento wound up receiving Chicago's 2-time All-Star scorer Zach LaVine, but the direction of the organization was immediately rerouted in the aftermath of Fox's departure.
The speedy, crafty offensive engine catapulted the Kings to the 2023 playoffs after a sensational individual campaign (25.0 points, 6.1 assists), the franchise's first postseason berth in 17 seasons.
Just two seasons later, Fox was out the door and heading for a fantastic opportunity to compete year-in and year-out with San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, but Fox's agent and popular NBA media figure Rich Paul revealed that his relationship with the team was much better than previously believed.
"He never wanted to leave that team," Paul recently shared with Game Over Podcast co-host Max Kellerman.
"When I first signed him one of the biggest things was he really wanted to see it through in SAC because they drafted me, he liked the ownership group etc… with that being said he trusted me with presenting him with places I thought made sense for him in the future…" Paul continued.
"Let’s look at these teams, San Antonio, Orlando (Magic), teams that really needed a point guard"
Fox's initial love for the Kings as a franchise was never really in question until the conclusion of their 2023-24 campaign, which ended in an extremely anti-climactic Play-In Tournament elimination at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans. This was a tough result to face after claiming the Western Conference's No. 3 seed to finish the previous season, to say the least.
Ultimately, winning matter more than anything in the NBA, and Fox is certainly subscribed to that ideology. For the entirety of the Fox-Spurs trade saga before the Kings pulled the trigger on a deal, the 2023 Clutch Player of the Year winner made his intent to compete for titles very clear.
With the Kings' eventual implosion throughout the beginning stages of the 2024-25 season, it made plenty of sense for Fox to seek greener pastures, no matter how heartbreaking it was in the moment.
At the very least, Fox and Kings fans can be proud of the fact that he led the team to its most joyous season in recent memory, regardless of how little that joy stuck around.
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