The San Antonio Spurs acquired De’Aaron Fox before last season’s trade deadline, and while the results weren’t immediate, the All-Star guard has finally settled in with his new team. Fox spent eight seasons with the Sacramento Kings, who drafted him fifth overall in 2017, and played a key role in ending the franchise’s 17-year playoff drought.
When Sacramento failed to sustain that success, the Kings decided to take a different direction. However, according to Fox’s agent, Rich Paul, the star guard never wanted to be traded in the first place.
Rich Paul Claims De’Aaron Fox Didn’t Want to Leave Sacramento
Fox played almost eight full seasons in Sacramento, earning an All-Star nod and All-NBA selection in the 2022-23 campaign. Despite his individual success, sustained team results never followed, with their only playoff campaign in 2023 ending in the first round.
The Kings’ struggles have continued, as they currently sit 14th in the Western Conference with an 8–29 record. While Fox has since embraced his move to San Antonio, recently stating that “the grass is greener on this side,” Paul revealed that the star guard had hoped to spend his entire career in Sacramento.
“He never wanted to leave that team. When I first signed him, that was one of the things that was, ‘Rich, I really want to see this thing through here in Sacramento because they drafted me,'” Paul said on the “Game Over” podcast.
Paul began representing Fox in 2022, and the following season, the 28-year-old guard helped end the Kings’ playoff drought. However, the first-round exit intensified trade speculation, and despite Fox averaging a career-high 26.6 points per game the following season, Sacramento failed to return to the postseason.
After a 13–18 start to the 2024–25 campaign, the Kings officially pivoted toward a rebuild, firing NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown before ultimately trading Fox to the Spurs ahead of the 2025 deadline.
“The writing was on the wall, but we handled it very professionally,” Paul added. “You still have to go out and play, and every situation is different. He trusted me to be able to present to him places that I thought made a lot of sense for him going forward in the future.”
Paul also revealed that the Orlando Magic was another team Fox found attractive before the Spurs traded for him. In hindsight, the move has worked out well. Fox has thrived alongside Victor Wembanyama and fellow guards Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, averaging 21.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game.
The Spurs currently sit second in the Western Conference at 26–11 and are closing ground on the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, whom San Antonio has beaten three times this season. For Fox, it represents the closest he has ever been to championship contention.