Breaking: The Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings have discussed a trade around De'Aaron Fox. How would this trade impact the Kings and 76ers?
The NBA trade deadline is slowly approaching as it is less than a month away. While many players have been in trade rumours, two players continuously pop up in Ben Simmons and De’Aaron Fox. According to an article written by Michael Kaskey-Blomain of ‘CBSSports.com,’ he reveals that the Kings have received a lot of interest in Fox over the last few days. One of the teams that have recently reached out to the Kings is the 76ers, as they are hoping to construct a trade around Fox and other assets. It is also important to note that the 76ers are not interested in a guard swap and want more in return than just Fox.
The Kings continue to be an abysmal organization in the NBA as they have yet to make a playoff appearance. Since 2006, the Kings have been a lottery team and have remained on a consistent decline as an organization. However, their recent draft selections of Tyrese Haliburton and Fox have been some of the positives over the last few seasons. While the Kings are nowhere near playoff contention in terms of overall roster talent, they currently possess one of the brightest young cores in the entirety of the NBA!
Many organizations having trade interest in Fox is appropriate given his impressive talent and young age. Last season, the 24-year-old had an All-Star calibre stat-line of 25 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 7.2 APG on solid efficiency. While his numbers have taken a dramatic drop this season, it might be due to his fit in Sacramento.
One of the primary reasons as to why Fox emerged in trade rumours was due to his fit on the Kings roster. According to an article written by Chris Haynes of ‘Yahoo Sports,’ he revealed a story of Fox addressing these trade rumours and his bad stretches of games. In the article, Haynes reveals that Fox has been fighting for a consistent role as he believes that he is a scorer and not necessarily a primary play-maker. (The quote below is from Chris Haynes article that is hyperlinked in this paragraph).
“I think I’m a scorer,” Fox told Yahoo Sports. “Just with the work that I continue to put in and knowing what I do when the cameras are off. Just being one of the best scorers in the league, truthfully. I think I’ve proven that I can facilitate at times when need be. I was top five in assists before, but my game is more of being a scorer. Just being able to put all of that together and being one of the best scorers.”
Fox can be a top-five point guard in the NBA, but not in Sacramento. The role the Kings want Fox to play is not ideal as he wants to be a primary scorer instead of fighting for that role. With the 76ers emerging as a serious contender in potentially attaining Fox through a trade, his desire to be a primary scorer would be answered in Philadelphia. Since Simmons has been drafted to Philadelphia, they wanted him to be a primary scorer and forced him into a role that he could not play. However, a trade of Simmons and Fox would be ideal for both players as Simmons can play his usual role and flourish in Sacramento as a play-maker. Fox can be a primary scorer and a secondary play-maker in Philadelphia. In essence, this is a trade that needs to happen as it fits the requirements and expectations of both rosters at the point guard position.
While the theory of this trade is close to perfect, the risk of this trade is a significant factor due to Simmons refusing to suit up for the 76ers. It has been close to half a year since the NBA has seen Simmons play an NBA game, making a trade for Simmons challenging to commit. Organizations that have expressed interest in trading for Simmons only have his previous seasons in the NBA to base and the potential he carries. General manager Darryl Morey has oversold Simmons’ value in the NBA and expects an absurd amount of assets in return for Simmons.
The 76ers have a great opportunity in trading for a generational type point guard in De’Aaron Fox. A swap of both guards in this trade is fair as they both have many years on their contracts and have shown great potential in the NBA. While Simmons does have a better resume than Fox, Fox is currently the better player, given that he has suited up this season. With that logic, there is an argument for the 76ers to add more than just Simmons in a trade, as no organization knows what version of Simmons they will receive.
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