De'Aaron Fox's value to Spurs severely downplayed by shockingly cold take

It's perfectly fine to want more from De'Aaron Fox next season. We get it; he didn't show up consistently in the playoffs for the Spurs, and his subpar production was a big factor in their NBA Finals loss. But it seems like some people are losing sight of the bigger picture.

"Fox is fine, he's a fine point guard," Kevin O'Connor says on Yahoo! Sports' Draft Live show. "Ja Morant has a chance to be an All-Star when he's back on the floor, and he's back healthy. There's no All-Star upside with De'Aaron Fox".

The problem with this take is simple: it severely undermines De'Aaron Fox's value to the Spurs. While he wasn't at his best in the postseason, it's difficult to imagine San Antonio's drastic transition into a title contender without him. He shouldn't be boxed into being "just a fine point guard." Few players could come in and do the job he did with this organization

De'Aaron Fox has no All-Star upside?

The first issue with Kevin O'Connor's take is that De'Aaron Fox was literally an All-Star during the 2025-2026 campaign. So suggesting that an All-Star doesn't have any All-Star upside is quite odd. Additionally, there's a very good chance that his production next season will be just as good, maybe even better than last season.

After his playoff issues, I expect a more aggressive version of Fox moving forward. Not only will he be motivated to come back stronger, but he'll also be healthier. Amidst all the noise, it's very easy to forget that he was nursing an ankle injury throughout a good chunk of the postseason.

So I highly doubt that Fox's ability to become an All-Star again is gone. He's an important offensive weapon for a Western Conference team that'll be contending for a title again, if things continue to go right. This is not some player who can no longer produce. At 28, he can still contribute to winning at a high level.

Ja Morant's overall upside is not better than De'Aaron Fox's right now

Ja Morant is a great player who turned the Grizzlies into a promising Western Conference power from 2021 to 2023. But availability issues and troubling injuries severely lowered his value, forcing Memphis to move in another direction. Even worse, Memphis apparently can't find a single trade partner to take him on.

While the Spurs could be interested in moving Fox down the road, they're in no rush to do so. They have a lot more options with him. If he can step up next season, they can use that to increase his trade value or ride his play into the 2027 playoffs and run it back. There's a night-and-day difference between his current upside and Morant's.

While it's easy to get caught up in criticizing De'Aaron Fox, we can't lose the plot. He's still very important to the Spurs. Does he need to be better next season? Absolutely. But his playoff blunders shouldn't lead us to write him off completely. Teams on the brink of contention would kill for someone who offers his offensive skill set.

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