De'Aaron Fox may be slowly losing his grip on featured role in Spurs' offense

When the San Antonio traded for De'Aaron Fox, many hoped he'd transform their offense. Instead, he's losing control of it. Fox was expected to be a co-star to Victor Wembanyama, but that has not been the case thus far.

Sure, he finished second on the team in scoring last season. Still, anyone who watched the Spurs will tell you that Stephon Castle was the team's second-best player last season.

Worse yet for Fox, Dylan Harper was the third-best Spur in the playoffs and certainly outplayed him during the NBA Finals. With Wembanyama, Castle, and Harper each taking on increasingly larger roles in San Antonio's offense, that seemingly leaves little room for Fox.

De'Aaron Fox may be losing his grip on the Spurs' offense

We've already seen Fox play off-ball more last season than he has at any point during his NBA career. That doesn't bode well for him next season after failing to make the impact that many had hoped.

Hopefully, Coach Mitch Johnson will allow Fox to play more on-ball next season. In doing so, he would free Fox up to play more as he did in Sacramento.

We saw our glimpses of that early last season when both Castle and Wembanyama missed 10 games. Fox stepped up big time while leading the Spurs to an 8-2 record during their absence.

That is too much to ask when everyone is fully healthy, but Fox has arguably the most untapped potential of any player on San Antonio next season.

The Spurs can't waste De'Aaron Fox's talent

If the Spurs want Fox to play better, then they need him to have the ball in his hands much more next year.

That may come to the detriment of Castle, though he improved as a shooter over the second half of last season and in the playoffs. Better yet, he looks to be working on his shot this offseason.

Playing him more off-ball would force Castle to take more threes and could be better for his long-term development. That's not to say Castle shouldn't have the ball, however.

But Fox should be San Antonio's primary playmaker, much like how Tony Parker was during the Spurs' 2014 championship run. He, of course, shared the ball with Manu Ginobili, but Parker still was mainly responsible for setting up the offense.

A more involved Fox means the Spurs would finally get the version of him they expected when they traded for him. It would not only make San Antonio's offense more potent and raise their ceiling, but it would also make trading him when the time comes far easier. Therefore, Fox shouldn't lose his grip on a featured role in the Spurs' offense.

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