Spurs keep proving the Sacramento Kings are the greatest partners of all time

The Spurs are back, and we have many people to thank for that. To name a few: Thank Victor Wembanyama's parents for sharing him with us, thank the greatest coach in NBA history, Gregg Popovich, for picking Mitch Johnson, and thank the Sacramento Kings for trading Harrison Barnes and De'Aaron Fox to San Antonio without forcing Brian Wright to give up anything worth missing.

Fox and Barnes have helped turn the Spurs around

Most people don't even know what the Spurs traded in those deals because it was so inconsequential. Allow me to remind you. In the Barnes deal, the Spurs were "forced" to part with RaiQuan Gray—he pretty much never saw the floor. SA also received a 2031 first-round pick swap from the Kings.

When you consider how much HB contributes to this team, that isn't just a robbery; it's a first-degree felony theft. What did Sacramento get in return? Poor spacing, more losing, and endless frustration... Sorry, I meant to say DeMar DeRozan (I kid, I kid... kinda). I have a ton of respect for DeRozan, but he wasn't the piece that organization needed, and they sacrificed a perfect role player for the flashy object.

The Fox deal was only slightly better for the Kings

At least in the deal for Swipa, they got a few first-round picks out of the deal. The problem for their fan base is that they didn't get any of San Antonio's best picks. They also didn't get Stephon Castle, whom they were reportedly trying to coax Brian Wright into putting in the deal. They did, however, get Zach LaVine from the Bulls and Sidy Cissoko. They waived Cissoko pretty quickly, but they probably shouldn't have.

This isn't going to turn into an "I believe in Sidy" conversation, though. Getting rid of Fox for LaVine was a net negative for the team, not because Zach isn't a talented player, but because every team needs a point guard. Unless you have Luka Doncic to handle the ball all the time, playmaking guards are a necessity.

Devin Booker and Kevin Durant's Suns squad found that out in the past few seasons, Giannis found that out when Milwaukee got rid of Jrue Holiday, and the list goes on. They thought that between DeRozan and LaVine, they had enough ballhandling, even though the NBA just watched that experiment fail in Chicago. Now, at 5-16, there are rumors that the Kings want to blow it up.

That's their problem, though. The Silver and Black are thriving and thankful. Sacramento gave up two pieces that will likely help lead the Spurs back to a championship. At the very least, they've been instrumental in helping Alamo City regain relevance, and we're not even close to seeing this team at the peak of its powers. Shout out to the Kings for that.