The development out of Sacramento regarding now San Antonio Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox came as a surprise to many. Weeks leading up to the trade, Fox appeared on Draymond Green‘s podcast, signaling his desire to remain in Sacramento provided the organization was willing to give everything they had to win. There were no rumblings that Fox might want out at the time or that the Kings wanted to divorce. That changed abruptly a week before the trade deadline. However, new details regarding Fox’s tenure in Sacramento have just come out involving a former teammate. Could it have been a factor leading to Fox’s exit?
Spurs’ De’Aaron Fox’s Exit From Kings Just Got More Interesting
Newly Christened Spurs PG De’Aaron Fox Sheds Light On Non-Relationship with Domantas Sabonis
It’s true; not all teammates are friends, nor do they have to be friends. It’s an interesting thought, considering that teammates play together daily, practice, work out, and see each other at the team facilities every week. In the NBA and other major sports, teammates are around each other more than their families at home. It’s simply part of the gig. However, it’s still strange when stories come out of teammates on the court, field, or rink that don’t share a friendship apart from their professional relationship.
This is the case with Fox and former Kings teammate Domantas Sabonis. Fox recently went to social media to leave some people behind, and Sabonis was one of them. Up to this point, no hints or sources have claimed that the two former running mates had a sour relationship. Perhaps it wasn’t sour, just nonexistent. In a back-and-forth with a fan shown over Instagram, Fox details why he unfollowed Sabonis, signaling no previous relationship between the two.
Fan: “Why did you unfollow Sabonis?”
De’Aaron Fox: “Don’t care to see it. Why’s that your problem?”
Fan: “Damn like that? Ight.”
De’Aaron Fox: “Like what? I don’t care to see it.”
Fan: “That’s yo boy tho?!”
De’Aaron Fox: “We were teammates… it’s okay not to be close to everybody.”
Reading Too Much Into It
It is unknown whether the Fox/Sabonis dynamic played any relevant role in why the Kings traded away their once-thought-of future face of the franchise. Again, many teammates aren’t “friends” off the court with the guys they play with on the court. Unless there is something deeper to this, likely, Fox didn’t see a future in Sacramento anymore but rather in San Antonio. Clearly, Sacramento felt the same way; otherwise, it would have been hard to imagine Fox being traded. Then again, this season’s trade activity has been none other than shocking and reverberating.
Nevertheless, Fox and Sabonis aren’t and weren’t friends—who cares? It doesn’t matter much anymore, given they play with separate franchises. Fox and Victor Wembanyama have a mission to pursue in Texas, and Sabonis will carry on being a triple-double monster and hopefully help lead the Kings to the playoffs. Whether the Kings failure to produce in the playoffs had any connection to Fox and Sabonis’s relationship is uncertain. Don’t read too much into things; it doesn’t get you very far. Of course, if, in a few years, it’s revealed that Fox and Wemby aren’t friends, let’s circle back, yes?
© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
