Spurs must rethink De'Aaron Fox's new offensive role as struggles continue

Despite the positive vibes around the San Antonio Spurs, they can't ignore star De'Aaron Fox's offensive struggles any longer. Entering the season, there was hope that Fox would have a bounceback year, but he's been a mixed bag thus far.

He leads the team in assists and has been delivering pinpoint alley-oops to Victor Wembanyama, but he simply hasn't been effective as a scorer. Fox's scoring has dropped like a stone this season, averaging just 13.9 points per game.

While his selflessness should be commended, it's also a double-edged sword for San Antonio. Fox looks better physically than he did last season, but he still hasn't played near the level they should hope for from him.

In all fairness to Fox, he is sharing the ball with two other point guards and a superstar in Wembanyama. However, Fox's average of just 13.9 points per game is down more than 11 points from when the Spurs acquired him from the Sacramento Kings less than two years ago.

De'Aaron Fox's offensive struggles are a major concern

Even if he isn't declining physically, his massive drop-off in production may decrease his trade value even further. In fact, it could make it all the more difficult to move him when the time comes.

San Antonio doesn't need to move Fox this season, or even next season, but they will eventually need to move on from him. However, if Fox is only going to average around 14.0 points per game this season, then moving him later seems almost impossible.

It's one thing for Fox to be aggressive and struggle to score, but he seems uninterested in scoring. As a result, he's not currently the Spurs' second or third option.

That wouldn't be a problem with Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle already filling those roles, but Fox is far and away the team's highest-paid player. Simply put, Fox isn't living up to his contract, not even close, and that's a problem.

So how do the Spurs fix Fox? Fox is playing more with the ball than he did last season, but instead of being in an attack mode, he seems resigned to setting up his teammates.

The Spurs must rethink De'Aaron Fox's new offensive role

Fox's playmaking does provide value to the Spurs, but they need him to be more than a glorified role player. It's almost hard to believe that this was the same person who averaged 26.6 points and 5.6 assists in the 2023-24 season.

As simple as it sounds, he must take more shots. Fox is attempting just 8.5 shots per game, which is ridiculously low, with him taking even fewer shots than Devin Vassell.

Taking even five more shots per game, on similar shooting efficiency, would see his scoring increase to around 18 points per game. Averaging 18 points would still be a far cry from peak Fox. Despite that, it would still be a dramatic improvement over his current play and make him an actual scoring threat.

Overall, while Fox is playing more on-ball this season, he has been far more passive in his new role. To solve that problem, he'll have to be far more aggressive in looking for his shot than he's been this season, but that is up to Fox to maximize his offensive role.

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