Spurs biggest De'Aaron Fox obstacle has removed themselves from SA's path

This is a relief.

San Antonio Spurs v Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs v Sacramento Kings | Ezra Shaw/GettyImages

San Antonio is seen as the frontrunner for De'Aaron Fox's services, but they won't be the only ones with a shot at the star guard. While plenty of teams will be interested, only a few have the assets and whose timelines line up with his age. Everything must make sense before making the kind of deal that will cost substantial compensation to pull off. A trade for Fox would require such a package.

When looking at who has what and what organizations may be a match for the Kings star, the Houston Rockets are the team at the top of the list that comes to mind. They have a young core and intriguing players to send back to Sacramento. But fortunately for San Antonio, they're reportedly uninterested in shaking up their roster at this time, according to Marc Stein.

A De'Aaron Fox/Spurs match would be made in Heaven

De'Aaron Fox is a competitor. You don't develop a reputation as one of the most clutch players in the league without putting the work in, and you don't put that work in without the drive to be the best. Fox could have agreed to an extension with the Kings already, fattening his pockets and falling victim to complacency.

Recent reports that he's unwilling to sign with Sacramento long-term suggest the most important thing to the former Kentucky Wildcat is winning. Ironically, that's Victor Wembanyama's biggest focus, making them a perfect match for one more reason besides the obvious basketball fit on the floor.

San Antonio would be a homecoming of sorts for Fox since he went to high school in Texas, but Houston would be even more so. His high school was in Katy, TX—right outside H-Town. That connection, combined with an obviously talented roster and a great coach, made the Rockets a very real threat to land Fox.

If the Spurs don't have to negotiate against their interstate rival, it makes the path to a deal much easier. The Miami Heat are another threat San Antonio must worry about. They've been talent-deficient for years despite some of the overachieving they've done in the past half-decade—a testament to the coaching of Erik Spoelstra.

They have a very public Jimmy Butler problem they've been attempting to resolve, and they may view the Kings as a way to kill two birds with one stone. There have been rumors that GM Pat Riley is interested, and we all know how aggressive Riley can be when he wants to get something done.

But the Spurs have better packages they can put together, so they just need to take the initiative if they want to outbid the Heat. The same goes for just about any other team in the league not named OKC, who has zero interest in taking the ball out of the hands of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The stars have seemingly aligned for San Antonio to get their point guard of the future. It's up to them to see the signs and accept destiny before the opportunity passes them by.

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