By Mike Finger | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-06-18 16:47:03
2026年6月7日，星期日，纽约麦迪逊广场花园，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 在总决赛对阵纽约尼克斯队第三场比赛前的发布会上回答提问。
造一台时光机，将时间设定在17个月前，把你现在所知道的一切告诉布莱恩·莱特 (Brian Wright)。
警告这位马刺总经理，在2026年6月，福克斯注定会选择尝试一次上篮，而不是运球消耗掉时间，并向他解释，这可能会让马刺失去赢得NBA总决赛第四场比赛的机会。
没有一个能正常工作的通量电容器或一个神奇的电话亭，我们无法证明这一点。但我强烈怀疑，莱特的反应大概会是这样的：
“等等，如果我和萨克拉门托做这笔交易，我们明年就能打进……NBA总决赛？你确定你说的不是2028年或2029年？如果是这样，我在哪里签字？”
值得记住的是，在不久前，这一切听起来有多么疯狂。马刺将赢得62场常规赛，七年来首次闯入季后赛，在西部决赛中击败卫冕冠军，然后在一场总决赛中惜败给一支经验更丰富的球队？
在福克斯交易发生时，这甚至算不上是最好的情况。它远远超出了最佳预期的范畴，如果当时有专栏作家暗示这有可能发生，他可能会被送进精神病院。
但在2025年2月到上周之间的某个时刻，马刺改变了疯狂的定义，不知何故，一个梦幻般的结果变成了一场需要替罪羊的失望。
最后这一点是不公平的，这至少在一定程度上是现代社交媒体生态系统的产物，但公众对指责的渴望早在推特（Twitter）和油管（YouTube）出现之前就存在了。31年前，当另一支由充满活力的年轻中锋领衔、前途无量的豪强球队远超预期地杀入NBA总决赛时，沙奎尔·奥尼尔 (Shaquille O’Neal) 领衔的魔术队被经验丰富的火箭队横扫，而一位表现稳健、高效的后卫尼克·安德森 (Nick Anderson) 则从此背负了无休止的指责。
当然，安德森就是那个在1995年总决赛第一场常规时间最后几分钟连续罚丢四个球的人。而且，即便休斯顿本来就很有可能赢得这轮系列赛，这也无济于事。在“梗图 (memes)”这个词诞生前的许多年，互联网前时代的“铁匠尼克 (Nick the Brick)”表情包就已经诞生了。
2026年6月10日，星期三，纽约麦迪逊广场花园，NBA总决赛第四场第四节末段，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫达龙·福克斯（4号）在纽约尼克斯队前锋OG·阿奴诺比 (OG Anunoby)（8号）的防守下上篮不中。尼克斯队以107-106击败马刺队，系列赛大比分3-1领先。
如今，在马刺五场不敌尼克斯之后，福克斯正在沦为替罪羊。他是一个比当年的安德森优秀得多的球员，而且他在季后赛后期的挣扎与高位踝关节扭伤有关——如果是12月或1月，他几乎肯定不会带伤出战——但他所遭受的指责也并非完全是无中生有。
福克斯在第四场比赛中的失误导致了阿奴诺比的盖帽，从而帮助尼克斯完成了29分的大逆转，但这并不是他唯一的低迷时刻。他在第五场比赛中表现糟糕，整轮系列赛投篮仅有70投24中（命中率34.2%）。
那么，我们该如何看待这一切？当我们退一步审视时，三个事实便显而易见了：
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17个月前交易得到福克斯绝对是正确的决定，如果重来一次，马刺依然会毫不犹豫地这么做。
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福克斯是马刺本赛季最好的球员之一，没有他，他们根本无法打进NBA总决赛。
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马刺必须在福克斯的合同到期前将他交易走，如果今年夏天有这样的机会，他们不妨长痛不如短痛，现在就快刀斩乱麻。
最后一部分很复杂，这不应该被视为对福克斯作为冠军级控卫或冠军级队友的否定。马刺完全可以在福克斯掌控全局的情况下夺冠。本月这几乎就要实现了。一年后也同样可能发生。
但就像许多像马刺一样实现飞跃的球队一样，他们必须在资源分配上做出一些重大决定。好消息是，他们拥有许多令人难以置信的资源可供分配。问题是，福克斯还要过多久才会被分配到其他地方。
其中的细节并不是什么秘密。在福克斯交易完成四个月后，马刺用榜眼签选中的迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 表现令人惊叹，而且他与福克斯位置重叠。如果马刺没有斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)——另一位拥有控卫技能的年轻球星——这或许还不是什么大问题。
马刺可以让这三个人同时上场。福克斯可以作为推进节奏、组织进攻的球员。哈珀可以扮演类似马努·吉诺比利 (Manu Ginobili) 的组织者和得分手角色。卡斯尔则可以移到侧翼，更多地专注于成为一名锁死对手的防守者。
但如果这意味着要将德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 挤到替补席上，强行让这三个人一起上场真的最合理吗？尤其是在瓦塞尔完成了球队期望他做的一切的季后赛之后。而且，在季后赛证明了马刺多么需要一位真正的首发大前锋搭档维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 之后，这难道不也意味着要把朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 送上替补席吗？
尽管本赛季球队的氛围非常融洽，但在某个时刻，总会有人感到不满。即使是吉诺比利，当年也并非总是微笑着接受自己第六人的角色。
考虑到文班亚马、卡斯尔、哈珀、尚帕尼和卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 即将面临的涨薪和合同续约，总得有人离开。这不一定非得在今年夏天发生。下个赛季每个人都还有生存空间。而且福克斯对这支球队依然有很大的价值。
还有一点：自拉马库斯·阿尔德里奇 (LaMarcus Aldridge) 以来，还没有哪位像福克斯这样级别的球星在有其他选择的情况下，主动选择加盟马刺。他通过让萨克拉门托别无选择，只能接受一笔让马刺几乎没有付出任何长期价值资产的交易，从而来到了这里。马刺不会亏待他，也不会随随便便把他甩给孟菲斯或新奥尔良。
但也许存在一个对每个人都合理的解决方案。如果这意味着福克斯不会再为马刺打任何一场比赛呢？
那绝不会是因为带他来这里是一个错误。
而是因为，最好的情况比任何人想象的都要好。即使拥有时光机也是如此。
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。
点击查看原文：Why the Spurs might face a big decision with De’Aaron Fox this summer
Why the Spurs might face a big decision with De’Aaron Fox this summer
San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox answers questions during a news conference at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, June 7, 2026, ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.
Build a time machine, set it for 17 months ago, and tell Brian Wright what you know now.
Warn the Spurs general manager that in June of 2026, De’Aaron Fox is destined to attempt a layup instead of dribbling out the clock, and explain to him that this might cost the Spurs a chance to win Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Without a functional flux capacitor or a magical phone booth, there’s no way to prove it. But I have a pretty strong suspicion that Wright’s response would sound something like this:
“Wait, if I make this trade with Sacramento, we’re going to make the NBA Finals … NEXT YEAR? Are you sure you don’t mean 2028 or 2029? In that case, where do I sign up?”
It’s worth remembering how crazy this all would have sounded, not so long ago. The idea that the Spurs would win 62 regular-season games, make the playoffs for the first time in seven years, knock off the defending champions in the conference finals, then come up short in a championship series against a more experienced team?
That wasn’t the best-case scenario at the time of the Fox trade. It was so far beyond the best-case scenario, a columnist might have been institutionalized for suggesting it was even possible.
But somewhere between February 2025 and last week, the Spurs changed the definition of insanity, and somehow a dream outcome became a disappointment demanding a scapegoat.
That last part is unfair, and it’s at least partly a product of our modern social-media ecosystem, but the public thirst for blame predates Twitter and YouTube. Thirty-one years ago, when another up-and-coming powerhouse led by a dynamic young center arrived at the NBA Finals way ahead of schedule, Shaquille O’Neal’s Magic were swept by the seasoned Rockets, and a solid, productive guard named Nick Anderson never heard the end of it.
Anderson, of course, was the guy who missed four consecutive free throws in the closing minutes of regulation in Game 1 in 1995. And it didn’t matter that Houston probably was going to win the series anyway. The pre-internet version of “Nick the Brick” memes were born, years before memes even existed.
San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (4) misses a layup while being guarded byNew York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) late in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. The Knicks defeated the Spurs 107-106, leading the series 3-1.
Now, in the wake of the Spurs’ five-game loss to the Knicks, Fox is getting the fall-guy treatment. He’s a far better player than Anderson ever was, and his late-postseason struggles coincided with a high-ankle sprain that he almost certainly wouldn’t have played through in December or January, but the flak he’s getting isn’t entirely undeserved.
Fox’s Game 4 blunder, which led to the OG Anunoby block that helped cap a 29-point Knicks comeback, wasn’t the only time he came up short. He was terrible in Game 5, and he shot just 24-of-70 (34.2%) in the series.
So what are we supposed to make of all this? Once we take a step back, three truths become apparent:
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Trading for Fox 17 months ago absolutely was the right move, and the Spurs would do it again in a heartbeat.
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Fox was one of the Spurs’ best players this season, and they would not have made the NBA Finals without him.
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The Spurs are going to have to trade Fox before his contract expires, and if there’s an opportunity to do so this summer, they might as well get it over with and rip the bandage off now.
That last part is complicated, and it should not be viewed as an indictment of Fox as a championship-caliber point guard, or as a championship-caliber teammate. The Spurs can win a title with Fox running the show. It almost happened this month. It can happen a year from now.
But like many other teams that make a leap like the Spurs just did, they’re going to have to make some big decisions regarding their allocation of resources. The good news is that they have a lot of incredible resources to allocate. The question is how soon it will be before Fox is allocated elsewhere.
The details here are no secret. Dylan Harper, selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft four months after the Fox deal, is incredible, and he plays the same position Fox does. That wouldn’t be as much of an issue if the Spurs didn’t already have Stephon Castle, another young star with point-guard skills.
The Spurs can play all three of those guys together. Fox can be the player who pushes the tempo and sets up the offense. Harper can be the Manu Ginobili-esque playmaker and scorer. Castle can move to the wing and focus more on becoming a lockdown defender.
But does it make the most sense to force those three together if it means forcing Devin Vassell to the bench, especially after a postseason in which Vassell did everything the team wanted him to do? And after a postseason that showed how much the Spurs need a bona fide power forward starting next to Victor Wembanyama, wouldn’t that mean sending Julian Champagnie to the bench, too?
As positive as the vibes were this season, at some point, somebody’s going to get disgruntled. Not even Ginobili accepted his sixth-man status with a smile.
And considering the raises and contract extensions that are coming for Wembanyama, Castle, Harper, Champagnie and Carter Bryant, somebody’s going to have to go. It doesn’t have to be this summer. There’s room for everybody next season. And Fox still has lots of value to this team.
There’s also this: Not since LaMarcus Aldridge has a star player of Fox’s caliber chosen to join the Spurs when he had other options. He steered his way here by giving Sacramento no other option than to make a deal in which the Spurs gave up almost nothing of long-term value. They’re not going to do him wrong, and they’re not going to just dump him on Memphis or New Orleans.
But maybe there’s a solution that makes sense for everybody. And if that means Fox doesn’t play another game for the Spurs?
It won’t be because bringing him here was a mistake.
It’ll be because the best-case scenario was better than anyone could have imagined. Even with a time machine.
By Mike Finger, via San Antonio Express-News