The guy got his money (when he signs officially) but he'll have the will to perform too. He's in his prime, has family in Texas, and this is where he wanted to be. He's definitely not as miserable as he was in Sac.
I think a potential Fox trade would be mainly because Harper/Castle turn out great and struggle to fit with him.
Last summer, Markkanen waited a day to sign his extension to make him ineligible to be traded at the trade deadline. If Fox don't do that, it is meaningful.
I hate the “this was probably discussed during the trade” stuff. Like Spurs didnt give up 3 legit firsts for Fox + 2nds so they owed him the max for “helping” the Spurs? Spurs paid fair value for him easily in terms of draft capital. Then they landed Harper alongside Castle.
They did not have to do this and they now introduced a lot of uncertainty and risk that was not needed. Im hopeful it still works out ok but theres palpable risk now that was not there before.
I think Shams said hes signing it today or tomorrow.
Per Shams hes signing today:
Happy it’s a done deal. I do think it was a already a handshake deal when he came over. I know they’re different situations, but glad they didn’t let this linger like Kuminga with the Warriors. Now time to just focus on basketball! Let’s go!
Clearly, this was agreed to in conjunction with the trade. The question is, why? The Spurs were/are the ones with the premier asset in the league.
There was always going to be a race for star lead ball handler x to come here. By that standard, he's not a high level one, so I don't understand why he was treated as if he he had the leverage.
In a vacuum, but that's obviously not how these things work. Fox will spend the majority of his minutes with one of Castle or Harper alongside him and a good amount with Sochan too, which makes him a questionable fit overall.Fox is a pretty elite fit next to Wemby. Sure, Castle, Sochan and Harper might not be great fits in between those guys but you have time to figure it out and can move off of any of them pretty easily.
If Castle and Harper hits then great, move Fox. It's not a Bradley Beal situation where he has a no trade clause or he's gonna be in his mid 30s halfway into the deal. He'll still be in his prime and can easily be moved
Actually, Beal is the comp (minus the no trade clause) that sprung to mind when I saw this. He was a similar aged, borderline All-Star caliber player with an inflated reputation due to bloated usage/ppg on middling efficiency/teams paid as if he were an All-NBA player.
My sense is they'll try to make this work as best they can for up to 3 seasons, but with the ill fitting core, no one is in position to be maximized, so the most likely scenario is this ends with them having to salary dump him.
Is Devin Vassell worth 27 million he'll be getting up until 2029?
Is Keldon Johnson worth anything, let alone 17.5 million he'll be getting this and the next season?
Fox isn't worth 55-60 million a year, but he's definitely worth 40-45 in today's market.
The question is would you rather waste an extra 10-15 million on an all-star guard who's a good fit with your franchise player or would you overpay some role players?
I wrote about all the variable that need to allign for the Spurs to get an all-star.
We somehow managed to get one who's young enough, fits well with Wemby, doesn't have injury issues, wants to be here and we got him for dirt cheap considering the going rate for anyone relevant these days.
Having him also take a discount would've been too much.
He average 25/4/6 on 48/34/75 in from 2021 to 2024.
If he can play on that level for the Spurs, then he's worth a bit of an overpay while Castle and Harper are on their rookie deals.
Beal is the comp only if you look at the stats and not the style of play.
Beal never played any defense and put no pressure on the rim. And for all the talk about him being an elite shooter, his 3pt% in his peak Wizards years was 36%, just 3% higher than Fox's with Fox obviously being a tier above in almost every other aspect of the game.
Can we name someone of his caliber and age these days that isn't getting max money when a team retains them? (legitimate question not being facetious)
Finally, we locked up the player that Dylan Harper won't ever be better than.
It’s one of those contracts in which the contract isn’t unreasonable, but you don’t want to be the team paying it. Fox can be that clutch guy to end games. He hits those shots for the silver and black than he’ll be worth it.
Brunson is the only one who took a significant paycut. Who knows what kind of endorsments and under the table deals he got in return, especially with his father on the coaching staff.
He'll surely get that money back, even if it's after he retires.
Because you make this kind of deal when you’re ready to compete. Spurs still need to develop guys and that won’t happen like it should because Fox just got his money.
I'm not letting Castle let alone Jeremy F'n Sochan prevent us from locking up an All NBA PG to pair with Wemby for the next few years. If those guys don't end up being good fits next to Fox then I wish them well on their next teams
This. The timeline to win feels rushed.
Wemby, the franchise player, is ready to compete.
It's that simple.
Weren't you slurping the Rockets giving FVV 40mil a year a few years back? Castle and Harper are going to get plenty of minutes this upcoming season regardless if Fox is on the roster. What this team (and more importantly their generational big man) needs to get to the next level is to finally play meaningful games in April/May. Fox helps with that.
Zach Collins was a negative contract.
Bulls first wouldn't have conveyed for the Spurs.
2027 Spurs should be in 20s.
2031 Timberwolves is probably the most valuable asset, but still a complete unknown and they got a new ownership that's willing to spend.
Spurs paid below market for Fox. You're just underselling him tbh.
If all goes well, their '27 pick should be in the 20s. The Minny '31 pick is only good if Ant decides to leave. Those aren't "legit" first rounders IMO.
always expected this to be the case. Spurs will figure this one out as they go. Plenty of time left. You really have to start worrying about it from 2028/29 on. It's also not etched in stone that both Castle and Harper will get max extensions. Even if they do, Spurs could pay luxury tax for one season as well. Plenty of options and way too early to worry about the implications of that contract later on.
If we use the Ringer Top 100 as the proxy for the best players in the league, Brunson is the only one ahead of him not on a max deal (or rookie deal). https://nbarankings.theringer.com/
There are numerous players ranked below Fox who are also on a max.
Anyone saying Fox is not worth the max is essentially of one of the following opinions:
1) Fox is overrated relative to where most player ranking place him (he's ranked in the 20-30 range by almost all of them)
2) Too many players get the max, it should be reserved for only the Top N players (with N varying depending on who you ask)
If you believe in #2, then you also belong to one of two groups (whether you realize it or not):
1) You believe the max is too low, so it qualifies too many players for it. (For example, if you made the max only 5% of the cap, then almost the entire league would get the max)
2) You're a crusty old boomer who thinks athletes are just paid too much in general and you'd prefer if the owners could just keep more of the money
edit: one more link, here is a link to the ranking of player contract's as a % of the cap for next year. You can filter for other years as well https://www.spotrac.com/nba/rankings...tal_league_pct
If you were criticizing the Spurs acquiring Fox at the deadline for below market value then you can gripe about this extension.
But if you weren't, then shut your mouth because this was literally baked into that transaction. Lucking into Harper doesn't change the calculus at all tbh, ESPECIALLLY with how this organization operates.
Fox is the only other legitimate NBA player on the roster. Be for real people. Spurs cannot keep losing and that’s all you do when you have a team full of young players and mediocre veterans.
The writing is on the wall for Vassell/Johnson/Sochan also. I’d be shocked if all 3 are in Spurs uniforms at the start of next season.
I still think the Spurs have enough contracts and picks to target a trade for another high level player. Has to be 3/4 big wing - not sure who though.
If you’re a Rocket fan - not sure why you have anything of value to offer on this extension. You’re about to hand a guy who has one good Achilles an absurd extension. What makes you laugh, eventually makes you cry.
Agreed, but their presence makes his own fit less than clean and while technically they can decrease their role or trade them, this being the Spurs, I'll believe it when I see it.I'm not letting Castle let alone Jeremy F'n Sochan prevent us from locking up an All NBA PG to pair with Wemby for the next few years. If those guys don't end up being good fits next to Fox then I wish them well on their next teams
Fox is not an All-NBA caliber player though, he's a fringe All-Star caliber player, which is 1.5 tiers below that.
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