De'Aaron Fox and Zach LaVine trade grades: Who won the massive 3-team deal?
Less than 24 hours perhaps the most shocking trade in basketball history, the NBA saw another blockbuster move on Sunday evening.
After he was rumored as a potential trade target for the Spurs last week, De’Aaron Fox was included in a three-team deal from Sacramento to San Antonio.
This means the Spurs have found their point guard of the future to pair alongside Victor Wembanyama, which is exciting for fans of the emerging superstar.
Meanwhile, longtime Bulls guard Zach LaVine was sent to Sacramento to keep them as potential contenders in the Western Conference.
The Bulls did not exactly move the needle much with this one beyond from moving off LaVine, but they did regain control of their own future pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft.
Trade details
- Spurs get: De’Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin
- Kings get: Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first round picks (2025 CHA protected 1-14 , 2027 SAS, 2031 MIN), three second round picks (2025 CHI, 2028 DEN, 2028 own back)
- Bulls get: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, their own 2025 pick via SAS
San Antonio Spurs
There were some questions about whether or not Fox was the ideal mutual fit for both parties.
But the reality is that the Spurs were able to land a player with All-Star potential without giving up any of the players in their young core, including rookie breakout Stephon Castle.
Now the Spurs can have Fox playing alongside Wembanyama and Chris Paul as well as Castle, Jeremy Sochan Sochan, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and various other promising talents in San Antonio.
They also kept their 2025 first-round draft pick from the Hawks, which may become valuable now that Atlanta forward Jalen Johnson is out for the rest of the season. Outside of the 2031 NBA Draft pick from the Timberwolves, they retained all of their most valuable draft capital.
It has become incredibly clear that San Antonio will contend for years to come with Wembanyama already establishing himself as one of the most dominant two-way players in the sport.
Fox can get the team playing fast and adding a new dynamic to what they can do on the offensive side of the ball without compromising their future assets.
Grade: A
Sacramento Kings
If the Kings knew that Fox was not going to re-sign with this franchise on a long-term extension and that he had a preferred destination, there was only so much that they could do.
That being said, while there are a lot of draft picks, this is not a particularly great return for a franchise cornerstone like Fox.
Sacramento may not have had much leverage in this situation but the fact the pick they received from the Hornets is so protected means it is actually more of an additional two second-rounders rather than a third first-rounder.
They can still compete with LaVine even if the pairing with DeMar DeRozan in Chicago did not work great the first go-around. His addition does not make them a favorite in the West and his contract is not exactly favorable for the front office, either.
Grade: D+
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls mostly just moved off their LaVine contract, which was long considered available to any potential suitors.
Most attractive for Chicago is that they regained control of their draft pick in this upcoming class, which will give them a chance to bottom out and keep control of their lottery destiny.
But they essentially netted zero first-round picks for LaVine after also not returning any draft picks for Alex Caruso this past offseason either.
We can expect that Chicago could continue to make moves to continue its potential rebuild, likely including trading away notable players like Nikola Vucevic and perhaps Lonzo Ball.
Grade: D-