San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox answers questions during a news conference at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, June 7, 2026, ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
Build a time machine, set it for 17 months ago, and tell Brian Wright what you know now.
Warn the Spurs general manager that in June of 2026, De’Aaron Fox is destined to attempt a layup instead of dribbling out the clock, and explain to him that this might cost the Spurs a chance to win Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
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Without a functional flux capacitor or a magical phone booth, there’s no way to prove it. But I have a pretty strong suspicion that Wright’s response would sound something like this:
“Wait, if I make this trade with Sacramento, we’re going to make the NBA Finals … NEXT YEAR? Are you sure you don’t mean 2028 or 2029? In that case, where do I sign up?”
It’s worth remembering how crazy this all would have sounded, not so long ago. The idea that the Spurs would win 62 regular-season games, make the playoffs for the first time in seven years, knock off the defending champions in the conference finals, then come up short in a championship series against a more experienced team?
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That wasn’t the best-case scenario at the time of the Fox trade. It was so far beyond the best-case scenario, a columnist might have been institutionalized for suggesting it was even possible.
But somewhere between February 2025 and last week, the Spurs changed the definition of insanity, and somehow a dream outcome became a disappointment demanding a scapegoat.
That last part is unfair, and it’s at least partly a product of our modern social-media ecosystem, but the public thirst for blame predates Twitter and YouTube. Thirty-one years ago, when another up-and-coming powerhouse led by a dynamic young center arrived at the NBA Finals way ahead of schedule, Shaquille O’Neal’s Magic were swept by the seasoned Rockets, and a solid, productive guard named Nick Anderson never heard the end of it.
Anderson, of course, was the guy who missed four consecutive free throws in the closing minutes of regulation in Game 1 in 1995. And it didn’t matter that Houston probably was going to win the series anyway. The pre-internet version of “Nick the Brick” memes were born, years before memes even existed.
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San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (4) misses a layup while being guarded byNew York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) late in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. The Knicks defeated the Spurs 107-106, leading the series 3-1.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
Now, in the wake of the Spurs’ five-game loss to the Knicks, Fox is getting the fall-guy treatment. He’s a far better player than Anderson ever was, and his late-postseason struggles coincided with a high-ankle sprain that he almost certainly wouldn’t have played through in December or January, but the flak he’s getting isn’t entirely undeserved.
Fox’s Game 4 blunder, which led to the OG Anunoby block that helped cap a 29-point Knicks comeback, wasn’t the only time he came up short. He was terrible in Game 5, and he shot just 24-of-70 (34.2%) in the series.
So what are we supposed to make of all this? Once we take a step back, three truths become apparent:
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1. Trading for Fox 17 months ago absolutely was the right move, and the Spurs would do it again in a heartbeat.
2. Fox was one of the Spurs’ best players this season, and they would not have made the NBA Finals without him.
3. The Spurs are going to have to trade Fox before his contract expires, and if there’s an opportunity to do so this summer, they might as well get it over with and rip the bandage off now.
San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (4) guards New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11)during the second quarter of game five of the NBA Championship at Frost Bank Center on Saturday, June13, 2026.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (4) drives up the court past New York Knicks guard Jose Alvarado (5) during the second quarter of game five of the NBA Championship at Frost Bank Center on Saturday, June13, 2026.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (4) tries to get control of the ball during the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. The Knick defeated the Spurs 107-106, leading the series 3-1.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (4) dribbles the ball down the court during the second quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York, Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
That last part is complicated, and it should not be viewed as an indictment of Fox as a championship-caliber point guard, or as a championship-caliber teammate. The Spurs can win a title with Fox running the show. It almost happened this month. It can happen a year from now.
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But like many other teams that make a leap like the Spurs just did, they’re going to have to make some big decisions regarding their allocation of resources. The good news is that they have a lot of incredible resources to allocate. The question is how soon it will be before Fox is allocated elsewhere.
The details here are no secret. Dylan Harper, selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft four months after the Fox deal, is incredible, and he plays the same position Fox does. That wouldn’t be as much of an issue if the Spurs didn’t already have Stephon Castle, another young star with point-guard skills.
The Spurs can play all three of those guys together. Fox can be the player who pushes the tempo and sets up the offense. Harper can be the Manu Ginobili-esque playmaker and scorer. Castle can move to the wing and focus more on becoming a lockdown defender.
But does it make the most sense to force those three together if it means forcing Devin Vassell to the bench, especially after a postseason in which Vassell did everything the team wanted him to do? And after a postseason that showed how much the Spurs need a bona fide power forward starting next to Victor Wembanyama, wouldn’t that mean sending Julian Champagnie to the bench, too?
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As positive as the vibes were this season, at some point, somebody’s going to get disgruntled. Not even Ginobili accepted his sixth-man status with a smile.
And considering the raises and contract extensions that are coming for Wembanyama, Castle, Harper, Champagnie and Carter Bryant, somebody’s going to have to go. It doesn’t have to be this summer. There’s room for everybody next season. And Fox still has lots of value to this team.
There’s also this: Not since LaMarcus Aldridge has a star player of Fox’s caliber chosen to join the Spurs when he had other options. He steered his way here by giving Sacramento no other option than to make a deal in which the Spurs gave up almost nothing of long-term value. They’re not going to do him wrong, and they’re not going to just dump him on Memphis or New Orleans.
But maybe there’s a solution that makes sense for everybody. And if that means Fox doesn’t play another game for the Spurs?
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It won’t be because bringing him here was a mistake.
It’ll be because the best-case scenario was better than anyone could have imagined. Even with a time machine.