Spurs to Acquire De'Aaron Fox in 3-Team Trade with Kings and Bulls

Answering questions for this season and the offseason after the Spurs will be acquiring De'Aaron Fox.

In a Sunday evening 3-team trade, Shams Charania of ESPN reported the San Antonio Spurs will be acquiring Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, the Kings will be adding Zach LaVine, and the Bulls will be bringing in role players from both teams as part of the trade.

Here are the questions I’ll be answering after this breaking news:

• Which players are being moved in the deal?

• Which draft picks are being moved in the deal?

• When will this deal become official?

• What does the Spurs’ roster look like now?

• What are the Spurs and Fox’s options this offseason?

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Which players are being moved in the deal?

According to Shams, here are the players involved in the deal:

• Spurs acquire: De’Aaron Fox ($34.8 million), Jordan McLaughlin ($2 million)

• Kings acquire: Zach LaVine ($43 million), Sidy Cissoko ($1.8 million)

• Bulls acquire: Kevin Huerter ($16.8 million), Zach Collins ($16.7 million), Tre Jones ($9.1 million)

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Which draft picks are being moved in the deal?

The Spurs are sending 4 first round picks and 2 seconds round picks in the deal. However, when we dive into the picks further, with how they’re projected to convey in the future, the Spurs essentially only sent out 2 first round picks.

Let me explain.

The Spurs are sending Sacramento the Charlotte Hornets’ 2025 first round pick that’s protected 1-14. With Charlotte on their way to being a Top-5 lottery team, that pick is going to end up turning into 2026 and 2027 second picks. The Spurs also sent out their own 2027 first round pick, but since they’ll be a playoff team by that point, that pick will be a late first rounder in the 20s range. The Spurs also sent a Minnesota Timberwolves 2031 first round pick that could end up being valuable, depending on the direction of the Wolves in 7 years. Finally, since the Bulls participated in the trade by sending LaVine to Sacramento and taking back the contracts of Huerter and Collins, they’re getting their 2025 first round pick they originally sent to the Spurs that was protected 11-30.

The Spurs also sent Sacramento a 2025 Chicago second round pick and Denver 2028 second round pick. The Bulls are sending the Kings back their 2028 second round pick, that Sacramento had acquired in a previous deal.

So, when we look at the picks in this realm, the Kings basically got 2 firsts and 5 seconds for Fox. The Bulls got their own first back for LaVine and for taking on two contracts the Kings and Spurs were trying to get off of.

This was an excellent deal for the Spurs. They were able to not only hold on to standout rookie Stephon Castle, who the Kings reportedly wanted, but they also kept Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and Jeremy Sochan.

The Spurs still have a ton of future picks for future trades as highlighted by Bobby Marks of ESPN.

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When will this deal become official?

Before this deal can become official, the Spurs and Kings have to wait on the Bulls to clear roster space. Chicago either needs to waive or trade two players to be able to bring in Huerter, Collins, and Jones to their roster.

Once the deal is officially completed in the near future, the Spurs will have 14 players with guaranteed contracts, leaving one open roster spot to sign a free agent. The Kings will have two open roster spots after the deal is completed.

The deadline for this deal to get completed will be Thursday, February 6 at 2:00 PM CT.

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What does the Spurs’ roster look like now?