Spurs’ De'Aaron Fox officially sheds "NBA's worst contract" label

Just when NBA fans were ready to crown San Antonio Spurs star De'Aaron Fox with the worst contract in the league, a new contender for that unfortunate honor has emerged.

As bad as Fox's contract appears, the Washington Wizards just re-signed Trae Young to a $212 million contract, which is far worse. The difference in salary is minimal, with Fox set to make $9 million more than Young, but I'd argue his deal is better.

Young is likely the better offensive player between the two. Yet he isn't nearly the same offensive player he was during his peak when he averaged 28.4 points in 2021-22. Part of that is due to him getting to the free throw line less with referees now wise to his foul-baiting tactics.

And despite being a high-volume 3-point shooting point guard, ala Steph Curry or Damian Lillard, he isn't on their level. He is also more ball-dependent, with him being notoriously lackadaisical moving off-ball.

Trae Young's contract replaces De'Aaron Fox's as the NBA's worst deal

So where does that leave the Wizards? It leaves them with a small above-average offensive point guard who can get 24 points and 10 assists but gets absolutely lit up on the defensive end. We've seen great offensive players and bad defenders, ala James Harden.

However, his offensive peak was all-time great, and his defense was bad, but he was good as a post defender, making him somewhat switchable. Young isn't as good as prime Harden on offense and has no redeeming qualities on defense.

Compare that to Fox, who has taken a big step back offensively, averaging 18.6 points during the regular season, but is actually a good defender. He more than held his own during the regular season and the playoffs, proving to be an asset on that end of the floor.

De'Aaron Fox is a better fit on the Spurs than Trae Young

On defense alone, Fox is the far superior fit on the Spurs. Not having a weak link at point guard has made San Antonio's already stingy defense even stingier.

Still, it could be argued that Young is the far better passer, with him being well known for his lob throwing. That is probably true.

But had he been on the Spurs, we wouldn't have seen Stephon Castle be able to play point guard with Fox's willingness to play off-ball making that happen. The same could be said with Harper.

While Fox may play more on-ball next season, he isn't as ball-dominant as Young would be. Ultimately, Fox's contract is far from the best in the NBA, but Young's contract is clearly worse.

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