Spurs' unshakeable belief in De'Aaron Fox continues to backfire

It wasn't that long ago that New York Knicks coach Mike Brown was fired by the Sacramento Kings, with San Antonio Spurs star De'Aaron Fox being the driving force. Fox was on the 2024-25 Kings team, and Brown's firing was blamed on his criticism of Fox.

Brown took issue with Fox's late-game decision-making leading to his ouster. Fast forward a year and a half and Fox may deliver Brown a championship with his awful clutch play for the Spurs.

Perhaps Brown was right all along; Fox makes bad decisions in the clutch. Ironically, he has previously won Clutch Player of the Year under Brown, but his track record with the Spurs is checkered, to say the least.

Mike Brown was right about De'Aaron Fox all along

He's cost San Antonio several games this season by taking the ball out of Victor Wembanyama's hands and trying to win the game himself. Sometimes it works, and he'll hit a clutch jumper or off-the-dribble three.

Other times, OG Anunoby pins his shot on the glass with 10 seconds left. Absolutely brutal to watch.

Game 4 was the worst-case scenario for Fox. He definitely has suspect decision-making at times in the clutch, but what happened was an absolute meltdown.

Ironically, despite him playing far below his peak levels in Sacramento, Fox has been crucial to the Spurs' playoff success. He has given the team a steady playmaker who takes care of the ball.

That is something that San Antonio has struggled mightily with this season. Still, it's ironic that Brown has benefited from Fox's struggles after he possibly cost him his job.

The Spurs must play to De'Aaron Fox's strengths

Fox can still be useful to the Spurs; they just have to be smarter with how they use him. Having him share the playmaking responsibilities with Stephon Castle benefits Castle with him being a turnover machine without Fox.

On the other hand, Fox shouldn't be the primary playmaker in crunch time. Castle is more dynamic with the ball in his hands while Fox is better picking his spots.

Meanwhile, Dylan Harper is a perfect blend of the two: the steady ball-handling of Fox and the physical drives of Castle. Therefore, Coach Mitch Johnson needs to lean more into the 3-point guard lineup, playing them with shooters such as Devin Vassell, or Julian Champagnie, and Wembanyama.

That way San Antonio doesn't solely have to rely on Fox when it matters the most. Instead, they can vary up their offensive attack, giving them their best chance to win against Brown and the Knicks.

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