By ducking accountability, De’Aaron Fox is telling the Kings it’s time to trade him | Opinion
The relationship between Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox and fans is currently a love fest. Fox, 28, has scored more than 10,000 points in a Sacramento Kings uniform. That’s more than Chris Webber and DeMarcus Cousins and second only to the great Mitch Richmond.
The love is real for Fox but it must be met with some reality. The marriage may be coming to a close and it might be best for everyone involved.
The Kings are currently ranked 12th in the Western Conference and there are very pivotal games to be played in the next couple of weeks that will determine the likelihood of them making the playoffs. The hype that began this season with the acquisition of DeMar DeRozan is quickly fading away.
Fox gave the first hint of uncertainty in the summer when he declined a four-year extension. A star player rejecting a three-year, $165 million maximum contract doesn’t promise many positive scenarios. His denying this deal could be an attempt to secure a more lucrative one but he shouldn’t get a dime more than that without any success to show for it.
Fox doesn’t want to be the answer
Fox appeared on the Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis recently and explained his reason for saying no to the deal.
“For me, man, it has all to do with the team, the organization, where are we going?” Fox said. “I want to make sure that we’re in a position to try to win in the future because that’s ultimately what I want to do. I feel like I’m continuing to get better as a player every year. But for me, it’s ‘Are we looking like we’re continuing to get better year after year, and are we going to be able to compete at a high level?”
Fox is forgetting one huge thing. He is the one who gets to decide where the team is going. He is the compass that the team and fans look to for direction. That’s what happens when you’re the franchise player of the team.
His answer is quite frankly obnoxious. Everyone wants Fox to be a star but it begins with him and his mentality.
In news conferences throughout the season, Kings head coach Mike Brown has been encouraging Fox to take the reins and play with more confidence and intensity.
“Fox has to step up,” Brown said of the NBA Clutch Player of the Year award winner. “He’s a great player on the verge of being a superstar. There are those guys and there are superstars who win at a high level…you have a lot of responsibility if you’re that guy and he’s that guy. He can’t be a part of not being locked in The pressure is on me and him to go get it done.”
Brown did add that everyone including Domantas Sabonis, DeRozan and Keegan Murraymust also carry their weight. The main guy, however, is Fox. We know that he is a prolific scorer, we know that he is clutch, but whether he really wants to be a superstar remains to be seen.
I’m sure that Fox wants to be the reason why the Kings are successful and make a deep run in the playoffs but a superstar player only gets there when he decides that he will be the leader to make it happen. Superstars don’t get there by waiting to see what others do.
What Brown is asking Fox is hard. But it’s asked of every great player who wants to take the next step.
The sad reality of trading Fox
Trading Fox will not mean an end to Kings basketball, but it may mean a start to this organization finally realizing its full potential by acquiring the right players. The current team looks like it cares about one another and has a shared desire for success. It is in dire need of someone who can help bring it all together.
Fox doesn’t want to be that person. When he has an audience, Fox resorts to pointing fingers and not owning the role that he has on the team.
This Kings fan will be the first person to eat his own words if Fox takes the Kings to the promised land. Becoming a champion is hard, and being asked to be the main centerpiece of a potential championship run is even harder.
The Kings have one of the worst benches in the league. This current group, led by Fox, were awful Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. They were flat, disjointed, careless. A flawed Lakers team played like they wanted the game more and the Kings had no answer.
So if trading Fox for a couple of guys and draft picks is the way this eight-year relationship ends, then so be it.
The best bet for the Kings right now is to deal Fox before this year’s trade deadline. If Fox wants an easier way to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy I’m sure he can come off the bench for the Celtics or the Warriors.
We have to be honest about this relationship now before Fox drops in trade value and all we’ll have are “what ifs.”
Fox has all the physical attributes to be a superstar but misses one ingredient: accountability.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "By ducking accountability, De’Aaron Fox is telling the Kings it’s time to trade him | Opinion."
