De’Aaron Fox isn’t in a hurry to leave the Kings.
On Tuesday, The Ringer’s Paolo Uggetti wrote a story on the ongoing Ben Simmons situation in Philadelphia and the timeline of how and when the situation between Simmons and the Sixers could finally reach a conclusion.
A relevant footnote to the story was the mention of Simmons’s potential fit in Sacramento and how it could make sense for the Kings to go after Simmons in a trade, a guy they would never be able to sign as a free agent. Although with the Sixers clearly in championship or bust mode, they would clearly be looking for a win-now star in the ilk of De’Aaron Fox.
However, Uggeti noted that, according to a league source, Fox is “content in Sacramento.” Uggeti mentions that for the Kings, having a potential All-Star under contract level player who wants to stay on the team may be too much for them to shake up.
The Kings have been linked to Simmons in recent months, but it’s difficult to imagine a roadmap to the Kings acquiring Simmons without relinquishing some of the assets — like Fox — that they are hoping to build around.
Given Daryl Morey’s reportedly exorbitant trade requests for Simmons, it’s hard to imagine the often-suggested deal built around Marvin Bagley, Buddy Hield, and a boatload of picks being close to enough to acquire Simmons. With the Sixers, actively competing for a title it seems that Morey is looking to acquire the best possible player available in a trade for Simmons.
The Simmons story is likely to continue in the coming months, so it will be interesting to see if the Kings get involved down the line.