Spurs fans calling for a De'Aaron Fox trade are overlooking one massive reality

De'Aaron Fox has a lot of making up to do when the new season begins in October. He knows that. While cooler heads believe Swipa deserves a chance to redeem himself, there are others who would cast him away with no assurances that the Spurs could replace him with an equally skilled player.

And there lies the rub. Critics in the fan base have been quick to give up on Swipa, but there are 500 players in the NBA, and no matter how big a blunder the speedy point guard made in the NBA Finals, he's one of the 40-50 best of them.

That's quite a luxury for a team with Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper coming into their own. But what happens if one of those guys goes down? All of a sudden, the Spurs are relying on Jordan McLaughlin or Ja'Kobi Gillespie to play big minutes, and one of their biggest strengths is eradicated.

The Spurs already showed why they need De'Aaron Fox last season

Less than a month into the 2025-26 campaign, Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle went down. Both players were out for weeks, leaving De'Aaron Fox in charge of generating their offense for most of the game.

Castle was out from November 18 to December 5. During that time, the Spurs averaged 119 points per game with the eighth-highest offensive rating. Fox put up 27 points and 6 assists a night on 48% FG and 37% 3PT. San Antonio won six out of nine games over that stretch.

Mitch Johnson's three-headed playmaking monster is a huge reason for the success this franchise saw last season. There's nothing like it in the league. Fox, Castle, and Harper each have All-Star-level ability. Whether they share the floor or take turns dominating, the Spurs are better for having them.

Besides, what are the other options? Every other organization in the league saw his performance in the Finals. Despite his injury, most would use that as an excuse to buy low, especially considering the max dollars he's set to begin receiving. The Spurs would be negotiating from a position of weakness, likely having to give up more to get back less. There's just no reason to do that.

This team made it to the NBA Finals after winning 62 games with De'Aaron Fox as an important piece. There's no reason to believe he won't be even better next season with that chip on his shoulder. If anyone is going to reap the benefits of that revenge tour, it should be the Spurs.

It's the best thing for the franchise anyway.

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