“Not a max-level point guard on any team” – Kevin O’Connor criticizes the Spurs for giving De’Aaron Fox a massive $229 million extension originally appeared on Basketball Network.
NBA journalist Kevin O’Connor wasn’t too thrilled to learn that the San Antonio Spurs re-signed guard De’Aaron Fox to a massive contract extension on Monday.
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According to O’Connor, not only did Fox not perform like a maximum-salary-level superstar for the Spurs last season, but he also plays the same position as the team’s last two first-round picks, including last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year winner.
Overlapping positions with Castle and Harper
Fox was the fifth overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft. He averaged 25.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game in 45 games for the Sacramento Kings last season before he was part of a three-team seven-player deal right before the trade deadline.
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Overall, he averaged 21.5 points and 6.1 assists per game in eight seasons in Sac Town before demanding a trade, specifically to the Spurs, because he wanted to play with Victor Wembanyama.
He got what he wanted, and expectations soared for the Fox and Wembanyama duo. However, after Wemby was sidelined with a right shoulder blood clot, they shared the court in just five games. Fox finished with averages of 19.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.5 steals over 17 games with the team. In the 120 minutes they played together, the pair posted a minus-2.4 plus/minus rating.
But more than those numbers, O’Connor’s issue with Fox is that he plays the same position as 2025 NBA ROY Stephon Castle and 2025 No.2 overall pick Dylan Harper. And good as he is, Fox is only a one-time NBA All-Star whose contract is more lucrative than Luka Doncic’s recent three-year $165 million extension deal from the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Pat Bev said it’s okay to have multiple point guards
Actually, the issue of having too many point guards began at last June’s NBA Draft, where the Spurs selected Ron Harper’s son Dylan, right behind Cooper Flagg.
Former NBA guard Patrick Beverley defended the Spurs’ decision, noting there’s nothing wrong with stacking multiple ball-handlers, especially for a franchise renowned for developing talent. Spurs GM Brian Wright also shed light on the strategy, explaining the team’s approach to accumulating elite point guards.
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“You start to put offensive skillsets together, have multiple ball-handlers, multiple people that can create, multiple people that can put pressure on the rim and make it easier for other players on the floor. I think that’s the advantage, and I think we can do that for all 48 minutes. And so I’m not as concerned about positional overlap and trying to find skills and people that can put us in advantageous situations and be able to play off that, and he can definitely do that,” said Wright.
Aside from that, O’Connor failed to consider that the Spurs don’t have a max guy yet because Wemby, Castle and, of course, Harper are all still playing under their rookie contracts, so they can afford to give the bag to Fox, at least for now.
And yes, perhaps Kevin was too fast to judge De’Aaron when, as mentioned earlier, he and Wemby played in only five games together. Let’s see them play 70 or even a full 82 before drawing real conclusions.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 5, 2025, where it first appeared.