By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-06-24 16:55:24
圣安东尼奥——达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 在本赛季常规赛的征程相对平稳，尽管在以腿筋拉伤开启新赛季后，他始终未能完全找回自己标志性的爆发力。
他很少扣篮或在篮筐之上作业，而这在他来到圣安东尼奥之前是他比赛的一部分。然而，这位全明星控卫是马刺进攻端的节拍器，他们的进攻表现远超预期，并证明自己是球队引擎中的关键齿轮，最终帮助球队排名西部第二。
但在季后赛开局表现尚可之后，明尼苏达森林狼后卫阿约·多孙穆在他们次轮系列赛的第四场比赛中，压到了福克斯的腿上，从此福克斯便判若两人。他带伤作战，但在得分方面形同梦游，在马刺最后10场季后赛中有4场得分被限制在个位数。
当他的失误成就了纽约尼克斯历史性的第四场逆转时，情况更是急转直下。福克斯选择在比赛最后几秒尝试上篮，而非运球耗完时间，结果被OG·阿努诺比封盖。
随着新秀迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 在NBA季后赛中崛起为一名双向明星，加上福克斯四年2.29亿美元的顶薪续约合同将于下赛季生效，福克斯在圣安东尼奥的未来似乎变得不确定起来。然而，马刺总经理布莱恩·莱特 (Brian Wright) 周二驳斥了这一说法。
“显然，伤病是真实存在的，但我们对达龙充满绝对信心，相信他作为球员的能力，相信他为我们做出过的贡献，以及他对这支球队的意义，”莱特说道，“这种信心没有丝毫动摇。”
福克斯今年28岁，莱特不仅欣赏他带伤（脚踝扭伤）坚持作战，而且他没有公开抱怨。马刺主教练米奇·约翰逊曾暗示，这种伤在常规赛本会让他缺阵一段时间。
“（对福克斯的）信心水平极高，”莱特说，“达龙不是那种——你们和他聊天就知道。他不找借口。他不回避任何事情。我想，正如我之前所说，我们每个人都有反思的时刻，会想：‘伙计，我们本可以做得更好。’我知道他正以‘他能继续进步’的心态来迎接这个夏天。”
最终，福克斯、哈珀和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 的三后卫组合将无法共存……大概如此。
除非他们中有人愿意整个职业生涯都打替补，或者出人意料地成长为一名极具威胁的拉开空间者，否则有人在某个时候会离开。哈珀和卡斯尔本赛季作为射手取得了进步，但那是在低出手量且大多是定点投篮或节奏运球急停跳投的情况下实现的。
哈珀或许是那个能实现飞跃、成为一名能胜任双向侧翼且随时能打控卫的球员的人选，但这会令人惊讶。
从财务角度看，卡斯尔和哈珀在他们新秀合同到期时，似乎已经锁定了顶薪续约。卡斯尔即将进入他的第三个赛季，并将在下赛季后有资格签署续约合同，因此马刺大约还有两年时间，球队的薪资表才会变得头重脚轻。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 很可能在今年夏天，即他新秀合同的最后一年，签署他的超级顶薪续约合同，这意味着球队最终将拥有四名顶薪球员在册，这基本上是闻所未闻的。
福克斯的薪资下赛季只会从3710万美元跃升至4980万美元，这并不算涨幅剧烈。然而，预计在2029-30赛季将达到6140万美元，所以如果马刺想要长期保持阵容平衡，就必须做出一些改变。
马刺很可能需要围绕文班亚马配置两名能投篮的侧翼（德文·瓦塞尔和朱利安·尚帕尼），因此未来可能会面临艰难的决定。
当被问及他如何设想这种情况长期发展时，莱特描绘了一幅将福克斯、卡斯尔和哈珀三人都保留在框架内的图景。
“他们将继续并肩作战，对于任何必须防守他们的对手来说，他们都将是一个难以对付的组合。我想我们已经在不同的情况下看到了他们的威力，”莱特说，“我们的对手可能不会喜欢在场上同时看到（他们三个）。”
“他们是一个难以对位的组合，所以我们将继续把他们置于能够发挥最佳水平的环境中，而且我认为他们会从今年中学习如何继续相互配合、相互支持，我们也会以此为基础继续前进。”
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：Spurs say they have 'ultimate faith' in De'Aaron Fox despite disappointing playoffs
Spurs say they have ‘ultimate faith’ in De’Aaron Fox despite disappointing playoffs
SAN ANTONIO — De’Aaron Fox’s journey this past regular season was relatively smooth, though he never quite had his trademark explosiveness after starting the season out with a hamstring strain.
He rarely dunked and went above the rim, something that was a part of his game before he arrived in San Antonio. However, the All-Star point guard was the metronome to a Spurs offense that was much better than expected and proved to be a vital cog in their engine as they finished second in the Western Conference.
But after a decent start to the postseason, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu landed on Fox’s leg in Game 4 of their second-round series, and Fox was never the same. He played through the injury but was a shell of himself as a scorer, being held to single digits in four of the Spurs’ final 10 playoff games.
Things took a turn for the worse when his blunder capped off the New York Knicks’ historic Game 4 comeback. Fox opted to attempt a layup in the closing seconds instead of dribbling out the clock, resulting in an OG Anunoby block.
With rookie Dylan Harper’s emergence as a two-way stud in the NBA playoffs and with Fox’s four-year, $229 million max extension kicking in next season, Fox’s future in San Antonio appeared to be uncertain. However, Spurs general manager Brian Wright shot down that notion Tuesday.
“Obviously, the injury is a real thing, but we have the ultimate faith in De’Aaron and who he is as a player, what he’s been for us and what he means to this team,” Wright said. “And there’s no wavering in that at all.”
Wright appreciated that the 28-year-old Fox not only gutted it out through an ankle sprain that Spurs coach Mitch Johnson implied would’ve kept him on the shelf for some time in the regular season, but also did so without a public complaint.
“The confidence level (in Fox) is incredibly high,” Wright said. “De’Aaron is not one to — you guys talk to him. He doesn’t make excuses. He doesn’t shy away from anything. I think, as I said earlier, there are moments for all of us to reflect back and like, ‘Man, we can do this better.’ I know he’s approaching this summer as he can continue to improve.”
Eventually, the trio of Fox, Harper and Stephon Castle won’t work … presumably.
Unless one of them is willing to spend their career coming off the bench or becomes a dangerous floor spacer well beyond expectation, someone is heading out at some point. Harper and Castle made strides as shooters this season, but that was on low volume and mostly stationary or rhythm dribble pull-ups.
Harper could be the one who makes the leap and becomes a viable two-way wing who can run point whenever he wants, but that would be a surprise.
Financially, Castle and Harper already seem like locks for max extensions when their rookie deals are up. Castle is entering his third season and will be eligible to sign his extension after next season, so the Spurs have about two more years until the team’s cap sheet gets top-heavy.
Victor Wembanyama will likely sign his supermax extension this summer as he enters the final year of his rookie deal, meaning the team would have, eventually, four max players on the roster, which is essentially unheard of.
Fox’s salary only jumps from $37.1 million to $49,8 million next season, which is not drastic. However, it’s projected to reach $61.4 million in 2029-30, so something will have to change if the Spurs want to field a balanced roster long term.
The Spurs likely need two shooting wings (Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie) around Wembanyama, so there will likely be tough decisions in the future.
Asked how he envisioned the situation playing out long term, Wright painted a picture that keeps all three of Fox, Castle and Harper in frame.
“They’ll continue to play, and they’ll be a tough matchup for anybody that has to guard them. I think we saw them in different situations,” Wright said. “Our opponents probably don’t like when they see (all three of) them on the floor.
“They’re a tough matchup, and so we’ll continue to put them in situations for them to be at their best, and I think they’ll learn from this year on how they continue to play off one another and support one another, and we go from there.”
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic