De'Aaron Fox opens up on Kings/Spurs trade saga "I wanted to go to San Antonio"

Organizations make or break teams long before players step foot on the court. Often overlooked in sports is the contribution the front office makes to the rising or falling of a team's iteration based on strong leadership or ineptitude. The Spurs have been known as a well-run franchise for decades, and that reputation has served them. Sacramento's rep hasn't been as pristine.

The Kings are one of the only teams never to win an NBA championship since the merger, and De'Aaron Fox's comments help illustrate why. Success starts from the top down, and they have work to do if they ever want to be a serious club. That work needs to start with a serious look in the mirror if this is how your franchise point guard felt walking out the door.

Fox felt like the Kings' front office didn't have his back

When you're dealing with a class act like Swipa, he should never feel slighted by the guys responsible for team construction and culture. He was ready to spend his entire career playing in purple, but the former Kentucky Wildcat is also a competitor. He wants to win, and he was tired of being part of a never-ending rotation of head coaches.

Teams don't win by repeatedly switching out the head coach. That's never been a recipe for success. You can look at the history across the entire sports landscape in any of the top leagues in the country to see that. Yet, when Fox told SAC's front office that he didn't want to play for another head coach, they didn't listen.

You may not want the players to run the organization completely; that's fine. But they're the ones who deal with the coach on a daily basis. If the best player on your team is emphatic about his desire for that guy to stay, he should stay, especially when you're hit with an ultimatum.

"If Mike gets fired, I'll be going on my fifth coach... I'm not going to play for another coach. I'm going to play for another team," is what Fox reportedly told them, according to his discussion with ESPN.

The former all-star was clear about his wishes and what would happen if the team didn't acquiesce to what should have been considered a reasonable request. Mike Brown is a Coach of the Year winner. He's led teams to the playoffs more than a few times and is a respected leader in the NBA. He has the second-highest win percentage in Kings history among head coaches.

Their 13-18 start to the season wasn't ideal, but they had just added a major piece to the puzzle and needed time to adjust. Not to mention, the fit wasn't right in the first place. That's the general manager's fault, though, not Brown's. Their decision-making led directly to their point guard feeling alienated. He's no longer there as a result of their ineptitude, and San Antonio thanks them for it.

The Kings will host the Spurs tonight at 9:00 PM CT. Sacramento is favored by -6.5.