Spurs in danger of creating their own Bradley Beal disaster with polarizing star

Former San Antonio Spurs rivals, the Phoenix Suns, were just forced to stretch, waive, and pay guard Bradley Beal almost $20 million a year over the next five years. The Spurs should count themselves lucky that they aren't in that position, at least not yet.

The Spurs have historically been smart with contracts. Even so, the new restrictive collective bargaining agreement (CBA) could force teams to make similar decisions to the ones the Suns just made.

The Spurs have two candidates, De'Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell. Devin Vassell has a contract worth $108 million for the next four seasons. That will pay him $27 million on average over that span, and it seems unlikely that he will be able to live up to that contract.

The Spurs have even been shopping him, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer. Even so, $27 million a year is a far cry from the $54 million a year Beal will still make. The other is Fox, who will soon be eligible for a four-year, $223 million contract extension that will pay $55.7 million on average.

A De'Aaron Fox max extension would be a mistake

A lot would have to go wrong for Fox's contract extension to reach the toxic levels that Bradley Beal's contract did, but there is a scenario where it could. While Fox is a great player, that extension could blow up in the Spurs' face. One reason is that the salary cap was expected to jump by 10% over the next several seasons.

Nevertheless, it will only jump 7% next season and may only increase at that rate or less over the next few years. That is a big deal since Fox's contract may increase the same percentage as the cap, meaning that it won't potentially look better with age.

That probably has less to do with Fox and more to do with the CBA. The Spurs may have to pay Wembanyama and Fox a combined $110+ million a season in a couple of years. That's a pretty penny to pay, and that wouldn't even include contract extensions to Stephon Castle, Jeremy Sochan, and Dylan Harper.

Add in the first and second aprons and the ridiculous penalties for multiple years above the apron, and keeping Fox long-term may not be realistic.

The Cba may force the Spurs to eventually move on from Fox

Even if Fox is still a great player in, say, 3 years, it may be hard to trade him. 30-year-old point guards making around $55 million a season might not appeal to many teams. Especially with the abundance of talented point guards around the league and more coming in each year.

To be clear, the Spurs probably won't be in a position where they have to waive him. But if they give him the full max, then trading him if and when the time comes may be harder than some expect. One reason is that they may have to take back bad contracts as a part of matching salary in a potential trade.

As a result, the Spurs should look to sign Fox to a shorter extension. Preferably one that pays him $150 million annually over 3 years with a player option for the third year, as NBA insider John Hollinger first proposed.

That would give the Spurs a three-year run with Fox before potentially having to trade him or let him leave if he were to opt out of his player option. Either that or at least two of the Spurs young core fail to work out and are no longer on the team in a few seasons.

Ultimately, the Spurs may not be able to afford Fox long-term if he is signed to a max extension. While his contract may not meet the same toxic levels as Beal's, it could potentially handcuff them in the near future if they aren't careful.