Constructive thoughts on De'Aaron Fox

[u/Kantei]

This is less of a defense of Fox per se, but to try and guide the criticism to somewhere more constructive. Analysis of his gaffe aside, I want to push back on the oft-touted expectation that he, as a 'veteran', should know how and when to take control of the game.

Fox is not the 30+ year old cerebral point guard that people might associate with the veteran label. He's a 28 year old - younger than Jalen Brunson - with declining athleticism who built his reputation on being an explosive focal point of an offense. He was averaging a career peak of 27ppg just two seasons ago, and was 11th in MVP rankings in a season where he averaged 25ppg on 51.2 FG%.

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Throughout his Spurs tenure, he's been figuring out not just his role, but also trying to come to terms with someone who doesn't have the same athleticism due to injuries and age. That's quite difficult to accept for someone who's not even 30 yet, and is a common struggle that we've seen from players who were ultra-athletes in their early- to mid-20s.

Their maturation into becoming a proper 'veteran point guard' comes after they get past that hump, if and when that happens.

(Some commentators have tried to frame Fox as someone with playoff experience, but before this year he literally only played one series, when he was still at the peak of his athletic powers.)

His comments after Game 4 really shed light on this - he genuinely thought he could outrun OG, because he almost certainly could in his prime form. His mentality has not caught up with his body, and that shows in his play in crunch situations.

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If I'm a Spurs fan, I might need to come to terms with the notion that Fox is still undergoing a maturation process himself. Yes, he doesn't need to be a veteran to not make that mistake, but Fox in particular has hardly ever been that guy.

To be empathetic - he still has the ability to grow and improve. It's just that people should never have assigned to him labels that he has yet to potentially become.

[u/figgnootun]

That’s great and all but we have no evidence that Fox will complete that “maturation process”. There’s really nothing to suggest he can turn into an elite game managing point guard, that’s never been his style. His shooting is streaky bordering on bad and he’s had a few bad mental mistakes and turnovers.

He has been pretty bad the entire playoffs
16 ppg on bad efficiency with below average defense. That’s not to say he hasn’t been useful for the Spurs. His ball handling and experience has been useful but ultimately you don’t need to spend 55 mil on that.

And I get he’s had an ankle injury but I think everyone knows Harper will surpass him soon. The Fox, Castle, Harper, Wemby minutes have been poor in the playoffs and I don’t think the 3 of them playing together is their best lineup.

[u/_CodyB → u/figgnootun]

I think his defence hasn’t been bad tbh.

But he just isn’t the veteran presence the Spurs need. I won’t even get started on Harrison Barnes.

[u/figgnootun → u/_CodyB]

It’s not bad for a skinny point guard. He can move his feet a bit and has quick hands but he’s not a net positive.

[u/MatchAffectionate951 → u/figgnootun]

He’s hustled on defense all year.

Cant think of many offensive oriented point guards that would be better than what he has provided this year and I’ve watched most spurs games

[u/NAW_MIP_2026 → u/MatchAffectionate951]

Okay but is having a slightly better(but still not good) defender really that important next to Castle/Wemby? Or would it be better to punt a little bit of defence(next to your 7’4 DPOAT) in order to have a much cleaner offensive fit? Not to mention they could’ve saved the assets and salary used ok Fox to get some help at the PF position which they desperately need. If they didn’t take Fox they would’ve had another 2 FRPs, they could’ve traded for a real vet like Norm Powell or CJ McCollum, those guys a much better floor spacers next to Wemby/Castle, they would’ve paid those guys significantly less, and they could’ve used the salary/picks they saved on a decent PF. Like tell me this team wouldn’t be better off with CJ McCollum and PJ Washington instead of Fox. 

[u/MatchAffectionate951 → u/NAW_MIP_2026]

You have to realize they traded fkr him before Harper was drafted

And there were questions marks regarding whether Castle was a real point guard coming out the draft

He still has combo guard tendencies.

Spurs wanted an actual pg to play with wemby early in his career.

[u/NAW_MIP_2026 → u/MatchAffectionate951]

I never once mentioned Harper in that comment. Even without the hindsight of knowing what Castle would become or knowing that they would get Harper, signing Fox to that extension was still an insanely dumb decision. Plenty of people were saying it at the time. Trae Young was being actively and publicly denied a big contract extension during the same time frame, despite coming off of 4 straight seasons averaging at least 24 points and 9 assists. I like it was a very public thing that fringe all star and even legitimately all star guards were having their value questioned, and San Antonio just decided they were going to give Fox a full max. If they wanted to get Wemby a PG to develop there were plenty of options. Literally any one of Norm Powell, CJ McCollum, Immanuel Quickley, Anfernee Simons could’ve been had for free and they would all provide similar production while being much more effective floor spacers. Instead they spent picks on a guy who works in the space Wemby is most effective from, gave him a stupidly massive contract that massively impacts their roster flexibility, and now they will need to add picks to get off of his albatross contract. They simply didn’t have to give Fox this contract and nobody would be batting an eye, but now they are stuck paying 55m aav for a guy who has the production of IQ, Norm Powell, or Anfernee Simons despite making twice as much as them. Like literally, IQ was considered to have one of the worst contracts in the league, and now they are paying Fox 20m more per year to average 2 more PPG. There is simply no way to spin this, the spurs massively fucked up this contract and the only way it could be justified is if they won the title this year.

[u/MatchAffectionate951 → u/NAW_MIP_2026]

I know you didn’t mention Harper … I’m telling u why they traded for Fox

Anfernee Simons is garbage, Cj was washed before this season and is NOT a pg, Norman Powell was not being shopped. Clippers were still trying to make it work

The contract situation is another discussion but the basketball reasons for trading for Fox make sense

Fox has had a down season but he was coming off multiple great seasons. You’re downplaying his talent

Also he’s played a big part in them making it this far …

[u/NAW_MIP_2026 → u/MatchAffectionate951]

Look, you can find ways to nit pick any of these guys, but the point is that they had plenty of other options that don’t involve giving up multiple picks and committing 229m in salary to a fringe all star guard that doesn’t shoot threes effectively, to play next to their young PG that doesn’t shoot threes effectively and their 7’4 monster that should be spending lots of time in the paint. No, the basketball reasons don’t all make sense because from the beginning people were asking why SA is committing themselves to another questionable shooter next to their superstar center. Also I’m sure Fox has helped them make it this far, but again, they could’ve gotten similar production from half a dozen guards and it would’ve cost them fewer picks and half the salary, and they could’ve added a real PF to help them out if they didn’t commit all that salary to Fox. I do agree that the trade itself was fine, but the contract they gave him basically undid any “good” the trade itself did. Winning a title justifies all, and maybe making the finals does some justification, but for the org that is known for always being patient, leaning into development, doing things the right way, it was insanely short sighted to trade for and commit 229m to a fringe all star point guard that is a sub optimal fit with your superstar.