Kings' blockbuster De'Aaron Fox, Zach LaVine trade with Spurs, Bulls shows Mavericks how it's done

Jan 29, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) controls the ball in front of Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Jan 29, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) controls the ball in front of Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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The Sacramento Kings pulled off the second massive blockbuster trade in 24 hours on Sunday night, sending superstar De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs as part of a three-team deal that saw them land Bulls star Zach LaVine and a plethora of draft picks.

Hopefully, the Dallas Mavericks' front office was taking notes.

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ESPN's Shams Charania broke down the full extent of the massive deal, which saw seven players and seven draft picks change hands:

Fox, 26, is a sublime scorer and playmaker who was always going to command a hefty price on the trade market, and ultimately, the Kings got what they wanted and then some. The Spurs got their young playmaker to fit into the lineup with Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Jeremy Sochan and Keldon Johnson, and the Bulls managed to get a big contract off their books and get some assets back for a star player of their own.

Compare that trade to the one Dallas pulled the night before, in which all they got in return for their 25-year-old supernova Luka Dončić was a singular first round pick four years from now, a 21-year-old who is averaging 8.5 points off the bench, and a 32-year-old center who has an injury history longer than his wingspan.

Fox is a great player, but he's not on Luka's level as a scorer or a passer. And yet, the Kings managed to get themselves a player in the midst of a career season who is three years younger than Davis in LaVine. LaVine was averaging 24 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game on a Bulls team who was going nowhere fast this season; he was shooting 51.1 percent from the floor and 44.6 percent from three, both career highs.

But the Kings also landed themselves plenty of assets for the future; they got the Hornets' 2025 first-round pick, which figures to be an excellent one, two other first round picks in 2027 and 2031, and a trio of second-round picks.

THIS is what you're supposed to get when you deal your star player, the face of your franchise. You're supposed to get the kind of assets that will set you up nicely for the next era of your franchise, and ensure that you don't fall off the face of the earth in this one. The Kings handled this perfectly; they took bids, they got offers, and they made a deal work to ensure everyone wound up happy.

What they didn't do was sell their superstar for quarters on the dollar, replacing one type of fitness concern with a different one entirely, while getting very few other assets back in the process. They didn't limit themselves to just one bidder in the process, worrying about outside influence due to leaks in the process.

Will the Kings be as good with LaVine in the fold as they were with Fox? That remains to be seen, but even if they aren't, they now have a plethora of assets to ensure that even if things don't go well the rest of this season, their window for contention hasn't slammed shut just yet.

If only Dallas had been that savvy.

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