There’s been another trade! This one took place in a sane universe. According to Shams Charania on X:
- Spurs receive: De’Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin
- Kings receive: Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first-round picks (2025 CHA, 2027 SAS, 2031 MIN), three second-round picks (2025 CHI, 2028 DEN, 2028 own back)
- Bulls receive: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, their own 2025 pick via SAS
Okay, perhaps the Kings trying to recreate the very mediocre Bulls team of LaVine and DeRozan isn’t that great but, I guess, that’s about as much as you can expect with Fox not intending to re-sign at Sacramento. And, of course, there are the draft picks too.
The Spurs made out like bandits. Not having to give up any relevant players is unexpected. The young core of Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Stephon Castle will be useful on the court next to Fox and Victor Wembanyama or be useful trade assets with the Spurs clearly moving to win-now mode.
With four days left before the trade deadline, all three teams could make additional trades. The Bulls have veterans to move as they’re clearly in a rebuild now, the Spurs might go for a star wing, and the Kings will surely do whatever it takes to be competitive in the play-in tournament. So all three depth charts may still change.
De’Aaron Fox Trade Winners & Losers
Winner: De’Aaron Fox (San Antonio Spurs, PG)
Fox made it to his preferred destination with comparatively little drama. Congratulations. Getting paired up with Victor Wembanyama will surely do wonders for his numbers. Fox only averages 6.1 assists this season, which will likely go up having Wemby as his lob guy. Presumably, Fox will have a bigger role as a playmaker in San Antonio as well when the Kings run their offense through Domantas Sabonis. For the season, Fox ranks as the 33rd-best fantasy player and he should be moving up the ranks.
Loser: Chris Paul (San Antonio Spurs, PG)
Paul has had a mini-resurgence in San Antonio but will now surely have to take a backseat to De’Aaron Fox. Paul will likely move to the bench but still might get some minutes next to Fox though his overall playing time should go down from the season average of 29.1 minutes per game. Will he be rosterable for the rest of the season? Possibly but he is already a one-category man in fantasy with 7.6 assists per game and not too much else. I’d keep him for the first week and then see what else is out there.
Winner: Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls, SF/PF)
A bit of a deep cut unless you’re a big fan of the G League Ignite – the worst team to have ever played in the G League. But with LeVine moving away, the rookie Buzelis will be in line to inherit a bunch of playing time. Even more so now that the Bulls should be in somewhat of a rebuild. Buzelis’ numbers don’t immediately jump off the screen but in his last four games, he’s averaged 11.2 points on 60.7% with 4.5 rebounds and 1 block. That puts him in the top 150 of fantasy, which isn’t great but is rosterable in many leagues. And his numbers will increase with LaVine leaving town.
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