By NBA Insiders | ESPN, 2025-01-29 11:11:00
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
两年半前，迪亚龙·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox)聘请里奇·保罗(Rich Paul)和Klutch Sports作为他的经纪人。当时，福克斯明确表示，他这样做并非是想离开萨克拉门托，事实也的确如此。但你聘请保罗的原因之一，就像《教父》中所展现的那样，他是战时的军师。如果你不得不在合同期内进行不愉快的解约，保罗已经证明他可以助你一臂之力。
对福克斯来说，这个时刻显然已经到来。
这并没有被定义为交易要求，但自从福克斯去年夏天拒绝了续约报价后，国王队实际上就开始了倒计时。随后，本赛季也并没有按计划进行。自由球员德玛尔·德罗赞(DeMar DeRozan)的加入带来了漂亮的数据，但胜利却减少了——国王队比去年同期少了三场胜利——而福克斯的角色也逐渐弱化。
还有对教练迈克·布朗(Mike Brown)草率的解雇，这一举动并不受福克斯的欢迎。消息人士称，这位明星后卫和布朗已经建立了富有成效的工作关系，而福克斯不得不发起一场自发的媒体宣传活动，以撇清自己与解雇事件的关系，因为布朗在执教的最后一晚批评了福克斯在防守端的失误。国王队管理层从未召开新闻发布会来解释这一决定，而是让福克斯来处理后续问题。
自那以后，国王队在临时教练道格·克里斯蒂(Doug Christie)的带领下扭转了颓势，取得了11胜4负的战绩。但尽管如此，他们仍然排在西部联盟的第10位，如果赛季今天结束，国王队需要在客场赢得两场附加赛才能进入季后赛。福克斯对于长期承诺的感受依然没有改变。而国王队，在权衡了这个交易截止日的形势后，决定成为潜在的先发者。—— 布莱恩·温德霍斯特(Brian Windhorst)
福克斯如何适配：
圣安东尼奥 | 休斯顿 | 洛杉矶
迈阿密 | 交易的障碍
四支可能适合福克斯的球队。它们适合国王队吗？
圣安东尼奥马刺队
鉴于圣安东尼奥目前在西部排名第12位，引进福克斯更多的是为了2025-26赛季及以后的布局，而不是为了今年春天的季后赛。但根据ESPN的沙姆斯·查拉尼亚(Shams Charania)的说法，福克斯的首选目的地将代表着一个与维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)合作的机会，在他可能成为联盟最佳球员的上升期携手并进。
我们已经在这个赛季看到了，加入像克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)这样的挡拆大师能够将文班的进攻提升到一个新的水平。福克斯无法达到保罗那样的技艺水平，但他比保罗更具得分威胁，并且将成为一个长期的挡拆伙伴。
作为回报，圣安东尼奥可以围绕侧翼凯尔登·约翰逊(Keldon Johnson)以及保罗或特雷·琼斯(Tre Jones)中的一个打造一个交易方案，这将使国王队获得更大的薪资空间灵活性。问题在于，如果萨克拉门托想要保持竞争力，保罗和琼斯都不是控球后卫的长期替代者。
对国王队来说，主要价值肯定来自选秀权。圣安东尼奥拥有来自亚特兰大老鹰队今年和2027年的无保护首轮签，来自芝加哥公牛队的前10顺位保护首轮签（在接下来的两年里，保护顺位将降至前8顺位），以及来自明尼苏达森林狼队的2031年首轮签。马刺队还可以将德玛尔·德罗赞交易到国王队的交易中获得的2031年选秀权互换权返还给萨克拉门托。
休斯顿火箭队
如果萨克拉门托要将福克斯交易到一个非他所愿的目的地，火箭队是最合逻辑的合作伙伴。国王队将获得弗雷德·范弗利特(Fred VanVleet)作为控球后卫的替代者——与福克斯相比略有下降——以及休斯顿一些有前途的年轻球员和大量的选秀权。
实际上，考虑到让福克斯在休斯顿续约的不确定性，火箭队的A级新秀可能会被排除在外。这仍然可以留下2023年首轮秀卡姆·惠特莫尔(Cam Whitmore)，他在有限的上场时间里表现出色，并且在国王队会有更多机会。
由于斯特恩规则（要求球队在每隔一年的选秀中至少拥有一个未来的首轮签），火箭队目前无法交易他们与菲尼克斯太阳队2025年首轮签的宝贵互换权。然而，休斯顿拥有太阳队2027年的首轮签，以及火箭队自己的、达拉斯独行侠队和菲尼克斯太阳队2029年三个首轮签中最好的两个。所有这些首轮签都具有相当大的上升空间。
在西部已经排名第二的休斯顿，通过引进福克斯将巩固其竞争者的实力。在他唯一一次季后赛之旅中，福克斯在2023年首轮系列赛中场均得到27.4分，带领萨克拉门托将卫冕冠军金州勇士队逼到了第七场。
洛杉矶湖人队
福克斯与湖人球星安东尼·戴维斯(Anthony Davis)和勒布朗·詹姆斯(LeBron James)拥有同一位经纪人（里奇·保罗），这意味着他们比任何人都清楚福克斯是否愿意续约并与他们在洛杉矶并肩作战。
尽管湖人队并不缺乏需求，但一个能够帮助詹姆斯的顶级进攻创造者是他们的首要目标。根据NBA高级数据统计中Second Spectrum的追踪数据，福克斯场均16.4次突破排名联盟第四。没有一个湖人球员的场均突破次数超过奥斯汀·里夫斯(Austin Reaves)的10.6次，后者排名第46位。增加这一维度将使湖人队有望获得西部前四的种子排名，并有可能重现他们2023年打进西部决赛时的季后赛之旅。
27岁的福克斯比通常与湖人队联系在一起的球星更年轻，并且将成为后詹姆斯时代与戴维斯一起的核心球员。问题在于，即使湖人队愿意将2029年和2031年的无保护首轮签都包括在内，他们能否向萨克拉门托提出一个足够有吸引力的报价。
与其他涉及的球队不同，湖人队无法为萨克拉门托提供福克斯的控球后卫替代者。除非湖人队愿意交易里夫斯，否则国王队将不得不接受侧翼贾里德·范德比尔特(Jarred Vanderbilt)或后卫盖比·文森特(Gabe Vincent)。
迈阿密热火队
福克斯想要被交易。吉米·巴特勒(Jimmy Butler)想要被交易。问题解决了吗？
萨克拉门托作为巴特勒的目的地很有意义——但前提是与福克斯一起打球，而不是取代他在阵容中的位置。而将福克斯放在热火队的后场，与泰勒·希罗(Tyler Herro)搭档，不可避免地会导致位置重叠。尽管如此，这里是迈阿密，所以交易一位明星球员，并说服他留在南海岸与前肯塔基大学队友巴姆·阿德巴约(Bam Adebayo)组成全明星二人组，始终是一个现实的可能性。
在一个理想的世界里，国王队和热火队可以将希罗（另一位前野猫队球员）和巴特勒交换，以德罗赞、福克斯和凯文·赫尔特(Kevin Huerter)为核心的交易方案，这在薪资方面几乎是匹配的。迈阿密无疑会因为拥有更可靠、更有动力的外线球员而得到提升，而萨克拉门托则可能凭借帮助热火队打进2020年总决赛的二人组拥有更高的季后赛上限。（巴特勒是热火队2023年总决赛之旅的关键人物，但希罗因伤缺席了大部分季后赛。）
在实践中，在迈阿密和萨克拉门托的交易中找到合适的价值肯定很困难。热火队或许最好还是希望福克斯不续约并在2026年成为自由球员，届时他们可以创造出顶薪级别的薪资空间。—— 凯文·佩尔顿(Kevin Pelton)
可能阻碍福克斯交易的障碍
国王队积极地围绕福克斯和全明星队友多曼塔斯·萨博尼斯(Domantas Sabonis)打造了他们的阵容，但现在他们将面临重塑阵容的任务。
他们之前的七笔交易，包括去年夏天引进德玛尔·德罗赞，已经让萨克拉门托损失了一个首轮签（2023年），一个首轮签互换权（2031年）和六个次轮签。国王队欠亚特兰大老鹰队一个2025年前12顺位保护的首轮签，这是2022年为获得凯文·赫尔特而进行的交易的一部分，如果今年没有兑现，保护顺位将降至前10顺位。（截至目前，它将被兑现，因为在选秀抽签之前，国王队排在第13位。）
国王队的薪资比奢侈税低320万美元，比第一个工资帽线低700万美元——由于签下德罗赞的先签后换交易，他们不能超过第一个工资帽线，这意味着在一笔交易中，他们收回的薪资不能比福克斯目前3480万美元的薪资高太多。
虽然应该有一系列球队愿意得到福克斯，他的合同还剩两年7000多万美元，但其他球队的管理层应该权衡多种风险。
首先，福克斯在上个休赛期已经拒绝了萨克拉门托提供的三年1.65亿美元的续约合同，他可以在2026年成为自由球员。那些可能感兴趣的球队会想知道福克斯是否愿意在今年夏天做出长期承诺。在他被交易六个月后，他将有资格签署一份四年2.29亿美元的续约合同。
然而，被交易将消除获得超级顶薪续约的任何可能性，即使福克斯本赛季入选了全明星阵容。（要获得超级顶薪资格，球员必须留在他们的母队，或者在他们的新秀合同期内被交易。）
除非球队老板维维克·拉纳戴夫(Vivek Ranadivé)介入，否则国王队的管理层在交易谈判中拥有多方面的优势。
正如我们上面提到的，没有紧迫感，因为福克斯今年夏天不会成为自由球员。萨克拉门托可以等到季后赛结束后，评估选秀情况，然后采取更积极的方式，瞄准那些在季后赛中表现不佳的球队。
更重要的是，国王队可以利用福克斯今年夏天重新谈判的资格来获得优势。
例如，马刺队——福克斯的首选目的地——预计在这个休赛期拥有薪金空间。如果福克斯被交易到圣安东尼奥（或任何其他拥有大量薪金空间的球队），除了有资格签署一份从2026-27赛季开始的四年2.29亿美元的续约合同之外，他还将被允许在交易六个月后将其薪资从3710万美元重新谈判至4640万美元。如果福克斯在休赛期被交易，那么他最早可以在一月份与圣安东尼奥这样的球队重新谈判并延长他的合同。—— 鲍比·马克斯(Bobby Marks)
点击查看原文：De'Aaron Fox trade fits - Four teams that can level up with a deal
De’Aaron Fox trade fits - Four teams that can level up with a deal
Two and a half years ago, De’Aaron Fox hired Rich Paul and Klutch Sports to represent him. At the time, Fox made it clear the decision to do so wasn’t because he wanted out of Sacramento, and that was true. But one of the reasons you hire Paul is because he is, as “The Godfather” made famous, a wartime consigliere. If you have to undertake the unpleasantness of extracting yourself mid-contract, Paul has shown he can help make it happen.
That time, for Fox, apparently has arrived.
This isn’t being framed as a trade demand, but since Fox’s actions last summer, when he turned down a contract extension offer, the Kings have effectively been on the clock. Subsequently, this season has not gone according to plan, either. The free agent addition of DeMar DeRozan has generated good stats but fewer victories – the Kings are three games worse than they were at this point last year – and Fox’s role has diminished.
There was also the sloppy firing of coach Mike Brown, a move that was not welcomed by Fox. The star guard and Brown had developed a productive working relationship, sources said, and Fox had to go on a self-run media campaign to distance himself from the firing because Brown had criticized him for a defensive gaffe during his last night on the job. The Kings’ front office never called a news conference to explain the decision, leaving Fox to manage the fallout.
The Kings have turned their season around since, going 11-4 under interim coach Doug Christie. But despite that, they’re still 10th in the Western Conference, and if the season ended today, the Kings would need to win two play-in games on the road just to make the playoffs. Fox’s feelings about committing long term have remained unchanged. And the Kings, judging the landscape at this trade deadline, have decided to be a possible first mover. – Brian Windhorst
How Fox fits in**:**
**San Antonio | Houston | Los Angeles\
Miami | Road blocks to a deal**
Four teams that could work for Fox. Would they work for the Kings?
San Antonio Spurs
Given San Antonio is currently 12th in the West, adding Fox would be more about setting up for 2025-26 and beyond than a playoff run this spring. But Fox’s preferred destination, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, would represent an opportunity to team up with Victor Wembanyama during his ascent to perhaps becoming the league’s best player.
We’ve already seen this season what adding a pick-and-roll maestro in Chris Paul could do to level up Wembanyama’s offense. Fox can’t match that level of craft, but he is more of a scoring threat than Paul and would be a long-term pick-and-roll partner.
In return, San Antonio could build a package around wing Keldon Johnson and either Paul or Tre Jones that would allow the Kings more cap flexibility. The trouble is neither Paul nor Jones would be a long-term replacement at point guard if Sacramento wants to contend.
The primary value to the Kings would surely come via draft picks. San Antonio has unprotected picks from the Atlanta Hawks both this year and in 2027, a top-10 protected pick from the Chicago Bulls that drops to top-eight protection each of the next two drafts and a 2031 first-rounder from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Spurs also could return to Sacramento the 2031 pick swap they landed as part of the trade that brought DeMar DeRozan to the Kings last summer.
Houston Rockets
If Sacramento is going to trade Fox to a non-desired destination, the Rockets are the most logical partner. The Kings would acquire Fred VanVleet as a replacement point guard – a modest downgrade from Fox – along with some of Houston’s promising young talent and a stockpile of draft picks.
Realistically, the Rockets’ A-level prospects probably would be off-limits given the uncertainty about getting Fox to sign an extension in Houston. That still could leave 2023 first-round pick Cam Whitmore, who has excelled in limited minutes and would get more opportunity with the Kings.
Because of the Stepien Rule (which requires teams to have at least one future first-rounder in every other draft), the Rockets can’t currently trade the valuable swap rights they have with Phoenix’s 2025 first-round pick. However, Houston holds the Suns’ pick outright in 2027 and the two best picks between the Rockets’ own, the Dallas Mavericks’ and Phoenix’s in 2029. All of those first-rounders have considerable upside.
Already second in the West, Houston would solidify its contender bona fides by adding Fox. In his lone playoff appearance, Fox averaged 27.4 points per game as Sacramento took the defending champion Golden State Warriors to seven games in a 2023 first-round series.
Los Angeles Lakers
Fox shares an agent (Rich Paul) with Lakers stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James, meaning they’d know better than anyone whether Fox would be willing to sign an extension to play alongside them in Los Angeles.
Although the Lakers have no shortage of needs, a premier shot creator to help James is at the top of the list. Fox’s 16.4 drives per game rank fourth in the NBA, per Second Spectrum tracking on NBA Advanced Stats. No Laker is averaging more than Austin Reaves’ 10.6, which ranks 46th. Adding that dimension would give the Lakers a realistic chance at a top-four seed in the West and the kind of playoff run they had when they reached the 2023 Western Conference finals.
At 27, Fox is younger than the stars usually linked to the Lakers and would be an anchor for a post-James era alongside Davis. The question is whether the Lakers could make an attractive enough offer to Sacramento, even if they include unprotected first-round picks in both 2029 and 2031.
Unlike the other teams involved, the Lakers can’t offer Sacramento a replacement for Fox at point guard. And unless the Lakers are willing to deal Reaves, the Kings would have to take back either wing Jarred Vanderbilt or guard Gabe Vincent.
Miami Heat
Fox wants a trade. Jimmy Butler wants a trade. Problem solved?
Sacramento made a lot of sense as a Butler destination – but to play with Fox, not replace him on the roster. And putting Fox in the Heat backcourt next to Tyler Herro inevitably would lead to overlap. Still, this is Miami, so a trade for a star who could be convinced to stick around South Beach and form an All-Star duo with former Kentucky teammate Bam Adebayo is always a realistic possibility.
In a fantasy world, the Kings and Heat could swap Herro (another former Wildcat) and Butler for a package built around DeRozan, Fox and Kevin Huerter, which just about matches in salary terms. Miami undoubtedly would improve by having more reliable and more motivated perimeter players, while Sacramento might have more playoff upside with the duo that helped the Heat to the 2020 Finals. (Butler was key to Miami’s 2023 Finals run, but Herro missed most of those playoffs due to injury.)
In practice, finding the right value in a Miami-Sacramento trade would surely be difficult. The Heat probably are better off hoping Fox doesn’t sign an extension and heads to free agency in 2026, when they can create max-level cap space. – Kevin Pelton
Roadblocks that could derail a Fox trade
The Kings have aggressively built their roster around Fox and fellow All-Star Domantas Sabonis but will now be tasked with reshaping their roster.
Their previous seven trades, including adding DeMar DeRozan last summer, have cost Sacramento one first-round pick (2023), the right to swap first-round picks (2031) and six second-round picks. The Kings owe the Atlanta Hawks a 2025 top-12 protected first-rounder from the 2022 trade to acquire Kevin Huerter, and the protection drops to top-10 if it doesn’t convey this year. (As of right now, it would convey, because the Kings are in the 13th slot before the draft lottery.)
The Kings are $3.2 million below the luxury tax and $7 million below the first apron – and they cannot exceed the first apron, due to the sign-and-trade that brought in DeRozan, meaning they can’t take back too much more than Fox’s current $34.8 million salary in a deal.
And while there should be a list of teams willing to acquire Fox, who has two years and more than $70 million remaining on his contract, there are multiple risks that opposing front offices should weigh.
First, Fox already turned down a three-year, $165 million extension with Sacramento last offseason, and he can be a free agent in 2026. Teams that could be interested will want to know if Fox is willing to commit long term this summer. He would become eligible to sign a four-year, $229 million extension six months after he is traded.
However, being traded would eliminate any possibility of earning a supermax extension, even if Fox were named to an All-NBA team this season. (To be supermax eligible, players must be with their original team or have been traded while still on their rookie contract.)
Unless team owner Vivek Ranadivé gets involved, the Kings’ front office has leverage in trade talks for multiple reasons.
As we mentioned above, there is no sense of urgency because Fox will not a free agent this summer. Sacramento can wait until after the playoffs, evaluate the draft then take a more aggressive approach in targeting teams who underachieve in the postseason.
More importantly, the Kings can use Fox’s eligibility to renegotiate this summer to their advantage.
For example, the Spurs – Fox’s preferred destination – are projected to have cap space this offseason. If Fox were traded to San Antonio (or any other team with significant cap space), he would be permitted to renegotiate his salary from $37.1 million to $46.4 million six months after the deal, in addition to being eligible to sign a four-year, $229 million extension that would start in 2026-27. If Fox were traded in the offseason instead, the earliest he could renegotiate and then extend his contract with a team such as San Antonio is in January. – Bobby Marks
By NBA Insiders | ESPN, via ESPN