Kings trade De'Aaron Fox to the Spurs in deal that moves Bulls' Zach LaVine to Sacramento

De'Aaron Fox is headed to the San Antonio Spurs.

The Sacramento Kings have agreed to trade their All-Star point guard in a three-team deal on Sunday night, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. The move also sends Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine to the Kings.

The Kings are also sending Jordan McLaughlin to San Antonio in the deal. The Kings will receive Sidy Cissoko, three future first-round picks and three future second-round picks. The Bulls will receive Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter and the rights to their own 2025 first-round pick, which had been top-10 protected and held by the Spurs.

The first-round picks the Kings are receiving: 2025 Charlotte Hornets (top-14 protected; becomes 2026 and 2027 second-rounders if not conveyed); 2027 Spurs (unprotected); 2031 Minnesota Timberwolves (unprotected). Sacramento also receives the Hornets' 2025 second-round pick, the Nuggets' 2028 second-rounder and the rights back to their own 2028 second-rounder.

Drafted fifth overall by Sacramento in 2017, the 27-year-old Fox averaged 21.5 points (on 47/33/74 shooting splits), 6.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 33.2 minutes per game over his eight seasons.

Fox is two years removed from a career season. In the 2022-23 campaign, he made his first appearances on both the All-Star and All-NBA rosters, capturing Clutch Player of the Year honors along the way. He led the Kings to a 48-win season, ending the franchise's 17-year playoff drought, before losing in the first round.

The Kings failed to make the playoffs last season, when Fox's 26.6 points per game marked a career high.

Sacramento started this season with a 13-18 record, which resulted in the firing of recent NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown. The Kings promoted Doug Christie to the front of the bench and promptly won seven straight games. They currently own a 24-24 record and are clinging to the final play-in tournament spot in the Western Conference.

When retired NBA player-turned-commentator Lou Williams suggested that a rift between Fox and Brown played a role in the coach's firing, Fox fired back on social media, "There was never any push back about anything. This narrative of us butting heads or me going to management saying anything is bulls***."

The Kings opened trade discussions about Fox to the rest of the league on Tuesday, according to Charania. Fox reportedly listed the Spurs at the top of his preferred destinations, and he got his wish. He is owed $37 million next season and can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026.

Fox will now get to team up with star Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio, where they'll try to make a playoff push in the second half of the season.

Kings land Zach LaVine

The second part of this deal moves LaVine out of Chicago and reunites him with former teammate DeMar DeRozan.

LaVine, who will turn 30 years old on March 10, averaged 24 points (on 51/45/80 shooting splits), 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for the Bulls this season. His 42 games played in 2024-25 are more than he played for last season's 39-win Bulls, as surgery on his right foot limited him to 25 games.

Injuries have been a big part of LaVine's NBA story. His medical history features six season-ending injuries, including a torn left ACL in his third season. He had a second surgery on his left knee in 2022.

LaVine's contract has been another obstacle to a trade in years past. He signed a five-year, $215 million maximum contract in 2022, which includes a $49 million player option for the 2026-27 campaign.

When healthy, LaVine is an electrifying scorer. He has averaged 24.6 points per game on better than 60% true shooting over his last seven seasons in Chicago. The only other players who have met those marks in that timespan: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard and Zion Williamson. Good company.

LaVine's Bulls have made the fewest playoff appearances among those players' teams. LaVine made the playoffs just once, in 2021-22, when Chicago lost in five games to the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. The Bulls currently hold a 21-29 record, which has them in 10th in the Eastern Conference standings.

LaVine's defense and playmaking have been roadblocks to superstardom. They have also been contributing factors to the team's lack of postseason success. Teams have been hesitant to absorb his contract and injury history as a result, but the Kings have taken that chance. And we will soon find out if LaVine's All-Star-level production can translate to a contender, or if skepticism was warranted.