When the Spurs traded for De’Aaron Fox at the trade deadline earlier this year, it was assumed that they would also be locking the lefty point guard up to a long-term extension. Yesterday, that finally happened, as Fox signed a four-year, $229 million deal to keep him in San Antonio through the 2029-30 season.
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The Spurs improved by 12 wins last season, and with one of the most talented young cores in the league, they’re really looking up heading into Year 3 of the Victor Wembanyama era.
Wemby is already cleared to play after missing the end of last season with a blood clot in his shoulder. Stephon Castle is the reigning Rookie of the Year. The Spurs defied the odds by landing the No. 2 pick in the lottery, where they selected Dylan Harper, a player with huge upside. Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan are all 25 years old or under. Fox is one of the team’s elder statesmen at 27.
Danny Green knows a thing or two about talented Spurs rosters, as he was on the 2014 title-winning team that also featured Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. On his Inside the Green Room podcast, Green praised Fox’s talents, but expressed surprise that the Spurs would make such a huge commitment before seeing how he and Wemby work together.
“I think De’Aaron Fox is a very special player,” Green said. “I think he’s really good … I’m still waiting to see how him and Wemby look together. To me, I’m more surprised at the timing of it. It’s like, let’s see what they look like together, let’s see how well they mesh together, because this might not be a great two-man connection, and four years is a big commitment to do that without knowing what it looks like.”
Fox and Wemby only shared the court five times last year, so Green is right that the Spurs can’t really know how well they’ll mesh. It’s a calculated gamble though on Fox’s talent, which should be obvious from his time in Sacramento.
Fox is an All-Star-caliber point guard who specifically wanted to be in San Antonio, a place that hasn’t traditionally been a hotbed for free agents. He can score, he can pass, and he’s one of the top steals merchants in the league. With Wemby patrolling the post behind him, Fox can be even more aggressive defensively.
Green admitted that the Spurs will have a tough decision on their hands in a few years when Castle and Harper become eligible for extensions of their own, but that’s a bridge they can cross when they come to it. For now, it makes sense to lock up someone as good as Fox while the team has the cap space to do it. The Spurs can now try to really contend next year, while still being able to evaluate what the young guys are capable of.
Wemby is the kind of talent that should be able to play alongside anybody. As long as he and Fox are able to stay healthy, the Spurs are going to be dangerous.
