By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-08-06 23:31:49
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。
马刺与德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 达成了一份为期四年、价值2.29亿美元的顶薪续约合同。自从福克斯逼宫加盟圣安东尼奥以来，达成这样的协议几乎是板上钉钉的事，甚至可以说，合同未能在8月3日（周日）这个最早可签约的时间点立刻敲定，反而令人有些意外。
马刺锁定了这位准全明星球员剩余的巅峰期，但这一决定也引来了批评之声，他们主要担忧合同的成本以及此举“孤注一掷”的性质。孤立地看，这些担忧不无道理。然而，从更宏观的角度来看，这笔操作的利远大于弊。
首先是财务方面。在合同期内，福克斯的年薪将占据工资帽的30%左右甚至略高，这无疑是一笔巨款，即便对于他这样水准的球员也是如此。如果马刺的薪金空间本就紧张，并且这次续约是他们能做出的最后一次重磅操作，那么这将是一个值得商榷的决定，因为它并不能让球队立刻成为总冠军的争夺者。
幸运的是，情况并非如此。维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 的新秀合同还有两年，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 还有三年，而迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 还有四年。德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 的合同金额在本赛季有所下降，下赛季将继续下降，尽管合同最后一年的薪水会上涨，但届时工资帽也会相应增加。根据Spotrac网站的预测，在福克斯新合同的最后一年（2028-29赛季），瓦塞尔的薪水大约只占工资帽的13%。目前球队阵容中，没有其他任何人的薪水超过工资帽的15%。杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 的下一份合同或许会达到这个数字，但这远非定数。马刺有利的薪金空间状况，让他们可以在当下为了一名优秀球员稍微多付一些钱，而不会让自己陷入危险的境地。
现在，有些人可能会质疑福克斯是否仅仅是“稍微”溢价。他仅有一次作为伤病替补入选全明星的经历，其职业生涯也未取得太多成功，只进过一次季后赛，且在首轮便遭淘汰。但与此同时，他生涯场均21分、4个篮板、6次助攻以及近2次抢断加盖帽的数据表明，他一直是一位极具效率的球员，其季后赛的乏力表现可以归因于他此前一直效力于联盟中最混乱的球队之一。一旦国王队为他配备了一位可靠的教练和一位像多曼塔斯·萨博尼斯 (Domantas Sabonis) 这样的优质搭档，福克斯在场时就能持续打出正向贡献，并在关键时刻化身杀手。没有理由相信，当他与文班亚马并肩作战时，这一切会有所改变。
说到文班，这次续约在某种程度上更多的是为了他，而不仅仅是关于福克斯。在文班亚马迄今为止的职业生涯中，与他搭档的控球后卫是索汉、特雷·琼斯 (Tre Jones)、马拉基·布兰纳姆 (Malaki Branham) 和39岁的克里斯·保罗 (Chris Paul)。尽管身边没有一个能为他分担压力的外线得分手和组织者，这位大个子在进攻端依然取得了长足进步，并在上赛季因深静脉血栓而伤停前，打出了联盟前20级别球员的水准。马刺乃至整个NBA世界都明白，只要他保持健康并拥有一个可靠的辅助阵容，他迟早会进入MVP的讨论行列。他已经准备好实现飞跃，而在经历了多年的阵容频繁更迭和战术实验后，给予他所需的稳定感是确保他迈向新高度的绝佳方式。
虽然短期来看，福克斯显然是控卫位置上的最佳人选，但一个合理的问题是，中期内球队后卫线的拥堵问题该如何解决。好消息是，尽管福克斯的新合同金额确实巨大，但它应该是可以被交易的。当他的续约合同在2026-27赛季生效时，预计他的合同金额将排在联盟第17位，但随着其他球员签下大合同，他的排名可能会更低。在那个赛季，预计将有42名球员的年薪达到或超过4000万美元，而这个数字肯定还会继续攀升。只要福克斯在未来几个赛季不出现严重的状态下滑（也没有理由认为这位27岁的球员会如此），他的合同就应该具有交易价值，因为他这个薪资区间的合同并不像一些人想象的那么罕见。
人们对福克斯续约合同的巨额数字感到震惊是可以理解的，认为他不应该拿到联盟前20级别球员的薪水也是合理的，因为他确实还不是。但围绕这一决定的宏观背景，让这笔操作变得可以接受。从薪金空间的角度来看，马刺有能力在不限制自身灵活性的前提下完成这笔续约。在球场上，确保维克托·文班亚马最终能有一位稳定可靠的外线搭档来培养化学反应，是至关重要的一步。圣安东尼奥锁定了一名优质的首发球员，并获得了此前所缺乏的稳定感。代价是高昂的，但这却是正确的选择。
当马刺进入重建的下一阶段时，做出那些未必会获得一致好评但能推动球队持续进步的重大决定，将是必不可少的。德阿隆·福克斯的续约表明，球队管理层已经准备好做出这些决定，这无疑是令人鼓舞的。
点击查看原文：The De’Aaron Fox extension shows the Spurs are ready to take the next step
The De’Aaron Fox extension shows the Spurs are ready to take the next step
The Spurs and De’Aaron Fox agreed to a four-year, $229 million extension, the maximum allowed. It was almost a given that a deal like this would get done as soon as Fox forced his way to San Antonio, to the point that it was a little surprising it wasn’t inked as soon as it was possible, on Sunday, August 3.
The Spurs secured the services of a borderline All-Star for the rest of his prime, but the decision isn’t without his detractors, who worry about the cost and the all-in nature of the move. In a vacuum, their concerns are understandable. In a broader context, however, the benefits far outweigh the potential drawbacks.
First, the financial aspect. Fox will make around 30 percent of the cap or slightly above it for the duration of the contract, which is admittedly a lot, even for a player of his caliber. If the Spurs were in a tight spot, cap-wise, and this extension was the final big move they could make, it would be a questionable decision, as it doesn’t make them an instant contender.
Fortunately, that’s not the situation at all. Victor Wembanyama will be on a rookie deal for two more years, Stephon Castle for the next three, and Dylan Harper for the next four. Devin Vassell’s contract declined this year, will decline again the following year, and while it goes up in his final year, the cap will also increase, so he will make around 13 percent of the cap in 2028/29, the final year of Fox’s new contract, according to Spotrac’s projections. No one else on the roster currently makes more than 15 percent of the cap. Jeremy Sochan might on his next contract, but it’s far from a given. The Spurs’ favorable cap situation allows them to overpay a little to be good now without putting them in a precarious position.
Now, some might question whether Fox is only slightly overpaid. He’s a one-time All-Star who got there as an injury replacement and he hasn’t enjoyed much success in his career, making it to the playoffs just once and bowing out in the first round. At the same time, his career averages of 21 points, four rebounds, six assists and almost two stocks show that he’s been an incredibly productive player whose lack of postseason success can be attributed to being stuck in one of the league’s most dysfunctional franchises. Once the Kings got him a solid coach and a quality running mate in Domantas Sabonis, Fox was consistently a positive when he was on the floor and a killer in the clutch. There’s no reason to believe that will change when he gets to play next to Victor Wembanyama.
Speaking of Wemby, the extension is, to a degree, more about him than it is about Fox. So far in his career, Wembanyama’s point guards have been Jeremy Sochan, Tre Jones, Malaki Branham and 39-year-old Chris Paul. Despite not having a perimeter scorer and creator to take pressure off him, the big man developed on offense and was looking like a top 20 player in the league last season before being sidelined with deep vein thrombosis. The Spurs and the NBA world as a whole understand that he could be in the MVP conversation sooner rather than later, if he’s healthy and has a solid supporting cast around him. He’s ready for a leap, and giving him the sense of stability he needs after years of high roster turnover and experimentation is a great way to make sure he gets to the next level.
While Fox is clearly the best option as point guard in the short term, there is a reasonable question about the logjam at the guard spots in the medium term. The good news is that, while Fox’s new contract is undeniably massive, it should be movable. In 2026/27, when his extension kicks in, he’s projected to be tied for the 17th highest contract in the league, but he could rank lower as others ink large contracts. There are 42 players slated to make $40 million or more in that season, and that number will definitely climb. As long as Fox doesn’t severely underperform in the next few seasons (and there’s no reason to think the 27-year-old will), he should be tradeable, because deals on his salary range are not as rare as some might think.
It’s understandable to be taken aback by the sheer dollar amount of Fox’s extension, and reasonable to think he shouldn’t be paid like a top 20 player, since he isn’t one. The context surrounding the decision is what makes it palatable. The Spurs were in a good position to do it, cap-wise, without limiting their flexibility. On the court, it was necessary to make sure Victor Wembanyama finally had a reliably good perimeter running mate with whom to develop some chemistry. San Antonio locked down a quality starter and now has a sense of stability that was previously lacking. It was costly, but it was the right move.
As the Spurs enter the next stage in their rebuild, big decisions that won’t always be universally praised but keep the progression going will be necessary. The De’Aaron Fox extension shows the front office is ready to make those decisions, which is encouraging to see.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock