Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, who was playing through an ankle injury, struggled to make a consistent impact in the NBA Finals, shooting just 34.3% from the field (25.0% on three-pointers) and averaging 12.8 points per game, including just seven on 3-of-15 shooting in Saturday’s Game 5 loss.
With rookie Dylan Harper looking like a rising star alongside 2025 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle in the Spurs’ backcourt, there has been speculation that Fox could emerge as a trade candidate in the coming weeks or months. However, he’s hopeful that he’ll remain part of the organization’s plans going forward, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required).
“(We want to) continue to work together, continue to get better obviously as individuals and as a team,” Fox said after Saturday’s defeat. “It’s our first time really going through something like this, so it’s definitely something to build off of.”
Appearing on SportsCenter on Monday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggested that there are no early indications that San Antonio intends to make a move involving its starting point guard this offseason. Fox requested a trade to the Spurs at the 2025 deadline, then signed a four-year, maximum-salary extension with the team last summer.
“I know there’s a lot of interest in whether they might do something with De’Aaron Fox, but they are committed to him right now as their franchise point guard,” Windhorst said, per RealGM. “And I think they will remain that way.”
We have more on the Spurs:
- Within his preview of the Spurs’ offseason, McDonald also explores Victor Wembanyama‘s looming rookie scale extension, Julian Champagnie‘s contract situation, and a handful of other summer subplots in San Antonio. According to McDonald, the Spurs would have interest in re-signing veteran forward Harrison Barnes, but he’d likely need to take a sizable pay cut after making $19MM this past season. It sounds like Barnes would be interested in continuing the relationship — he referred to the Spurs a a “first-class organization in every way.”
- Previewing the Spurs’ offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks says it will be interesting to see whether Wembanyama’s rookie scale extension includes a player option and how the front office handles Champagnie’s contract — while Champagnie has a team-friendly $3MM option for 2026/27, it might make sense for San Antonio to decline that option and lock him up to a longer-term deal with a descending structure. Marks adds that the Spurs figure to be on the lookout for a stretch four and more backcourt depth this summer.
- Despite their loss in the NBA Finals, the Spurs are well positioned for success on and off the court going forward, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, who examines the club’s cap situation and its plans for a new arena that’s expected to open in the early 2030s.
- Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports takes a look at how the Spurs are balancing the disappointment of the Finals loss with the fact that they exceeded expectations this season by going from a 34-win team to Western Conference champions.
