San Antonio Spurs fans will definitely appreciate this prediction.
Last season, the San Antonio Spurs made a rather puzzling trade ahead of the deadline, acquiring De'Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings in a three-way deal.
It was viewed as a head-scratching move right from the start given that the Spurs already had Stephon Castle in their backcourt, and the floor spacing between Fox and Castle was awkward.
Well, not only did San Antonio acquire Fox via trade, it then doubled down on him as being a major part of its long-term future, signing the 27-year-old to a four-year, $229 million contract extension last month.
It was just a very odd series of moves for a Spurs franchise that has historically been so careful with its spending and has generally always brought in players who fit its system.
Fox struggled in San Antonio last year, averaging 19.7 points and 6.8 assists over 34 minutes per game on 44.6/27.4/81.9 shooting splits.
San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox. Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images.However, Bleacher Report's Mo Dakhil is expecting Fox to rebound this coming season, listing Fox among five star players who are set for bounce-back years.
"There is a lot of reasoning to expect a bounce-back season from Fox," Dakhil wrote. "For starters, he only played five games with Wemby [Victor Wembanyama] last year before a blood clot ended his season. That is hardly enough time to develop any chemistry. Second, a full offseason in a stable environment, such as San Antonio, should allow Fox to become more comfortable with the system. Third, he got his new deal, clearing any possible distractions out of the way."
That's all fair, but does Fox actually have the skill set to co-exist with Castle — not to mention rookie guard Dylan Harper — for the years to come?
There is no doubt that Fox is a good player. He owns career averages of 21.5 points, 6.1 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game while playing solid defense. He is also two seasons removed from registering 26.6 points per game in Sacramento.
But whether or not he is actually a good fit in San Antonio remains to be seen, because the early returns have not been encouraging, with or without Wembanyama.