You hear them, don't you? The flashing warning lights? The hurricane siren that started blaring in your head as soon as soon as the Spurs signed De'Aaron Fox to that monster $228 million max extension? What could they possibly be thinking, you're probably asking yourself. Inflation or CBA growth aside, $228 million equates Giannis' then-record-setting supermax extension with the Bucks.
That's a lot of cash -- especially for a non-homegrown, recently-acquired, 1x All-Star (yes, in the Western Conference, but still) whose playstyle doesn't quite compliment the genuine superstar in the making you already have. Not to mention that Fox plays the exact same role as both the guard you just drafted and the current reigning Rookie of the Year on your roster.
Not only is he not the distributor that Wemby needs, but he makes San Antonio's backcourt so very uncomfortably crowded. And even in a vacuum, we can all remember the last time a team forked over nine digits to an athletically-reliant, ball-dominant scoring guard who would be well past his expected prime by deal's end. Supermax-level money going to a star with a semifinal ceiling has been long left behind, or so we thought.
So what gives? San Antonio's entire brand since David Robinson's peak has been based off of being the most buttoned up organization in the NBA -- substance over flash. Not to mention that they'll eventually have to pay Wemby truly absurd amounts of money if his trajectory stays on target, possibly to Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper as well. How could a mistake like this happen?
Well, most likely because signing De'Aaron Fox wasn't really a mistake. Here are three reasons why.
1. The Spurs are in win-now mode
The 2025-26 season will mark Victor Wembanyama's third season in the league, and for all intents and purposes, is geared up to be a top two or three center in arguably the most talented field of bigs we've ever seen hit the league. To recap: as a rookie, Wemby led the league in blocks per game, became the first rookie ever to make the All-Defensive First Team, and came in second place in the DPOY race.
He followed that up the next year by posting the highest season BPG average since before Y2K. And on the other end, any doubts of his game carrying over to the US should be put to rest, with Wemby posting top 30 points averages each year on a player efficiency rating good enough for 12th and 5th place on the league leaderboard.
Yes, there is more to grow about his game, but at this early point in Wemby's career, that should paint a picture of how scary he will be. And more to the point, that fear should contextualize that while Wemby has room to grow, he is already a superstar and arguably one of the 15 best players in the league. In his current state, and with the right support, the Spurs' next championship window is now.
However, no superstar has ever won a championship on their own, not really. And for the Spurs to maximize their window with him, they're in the both enviable and unenviable position of needing to build for both the present and future. Castle and Dylan Harper are incredible prospects, but the idea that they are legitimate running mates for a championship contender right now is asking a lot out of them. And say what you want about Fox, but he offers that dimension to the Spurs. That's why they traded for him, and after just 17 appearances (and only five playing alongside Wemby), there's no way they were going to let Fox walk for nothing.
And perhaps most importantly, Fox gives the Spurs time. Time to develop Castle and Harper, to see what they grow into. They might be ready now, but the vast majority of rookie prospects, potential or no, do not hit like the meteors of LeBron, Wemby, and the like. Keeping Fox onboard, at least for the next year or two, was and is vital for San Antonio to stay at least in the playoff run while their other young names grow. And as for the rest of his contract...
2. Fox is not the Spurs' true target
This contract isn't truly about De'Aaron Fox in the long run. To reiterate: arguably the best thing he can give the Spurs is time for their young, promising guards to grow into their potential. I, for one, refuse to believe that R.C. Buford's front office would fall into the "three perimeter scorers" trap that the Nets and Suns fell into. The closest that they came to a truly bad deal involving a perimeter was the Kawhi-DeRozan trade, and they were essentially forced into a corner in the deal.
For now, yes -- it would be ill-advised for Fox, Harper, and Castle to start together, and they most likely will not. And the best part is that they won't raise a fuss about it. Regardless of their personalities, Fox is at the veteran stage of his career in which players as young as Castle and Harper would be expected to defer to, and learn from him. It worked with Tyrese Haliburton in Sacramento, and I still contend that the Kings made a mistake by trading Hali away.
And that's all relevant if Fox even spends the entirety of his upcoming contract in San Antonio. If Castle and/or Harper achieve stardom ahead of schedule, there are more than a few teams that might be willing to take someone like Fox off of San Antonio's hands. Orlando and New York are two playoff teams that absolutely could simply never grow past the second round or semifinal plateau, and if so would happily take a shot at a floor general of Fox's caliber.
Either one of Franz Wagner or OG Anunoby would pair extremely well with a core of Wemby, Castle, and Harper, both could be very movable for the right offer, and their 2028 salaries would be logistically compatible with Fox's. If the Celtics blow things up, the same could go for Jaylen Brown. The Spurs have names to pivot on, should the need arise.
3. A bad contract is not necessarily untradeable anymore
Should worse come to worse and the Fox extension prove to be the untouchable albatross it's made out to be, the Spurs wouldn't be nearly as bad off as one would think. Maybe no team sees a De'Aaron Fox on either side of the age 30 line as worth the price of one of their primary stars, and that can still be okay.
Because if you believe that the San Antonio Spurs' mistakes are as few and far between as their reputation suggests, you believe that they know how to recover from a bad move. And they've already been provided the blueprint from within their own house: Brooklyn GM Sean Marks is part of the Spurs' coaching and executive tree, and if you remember, he was the GM that alleviated the Lakers' money problems by taking on Timofey Mozgov's insane contract off their books. And it sort of ended as a win-win situation for both teams -- LA eased its financial pressure in a big way while absolutely nailing the pick Brooklyn threw them in the deal by taking Kyle Kuzma. Meanwhile, Brooklyn's flyer on D'Angelo Russell was more of a success than it should have been, with DLo earning what was and is the only All-Star nod of his career in the black and white.
And if there's one team that scouts on the level of the Nets (and the Thunder), it's the San Antonio Spurs. The R.C. Buford regime gave us Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, from deep beyond the lottery, no less. Stephon Castle was a reach for San Antonio with the fourth pick, with Bleacher Report even projecting that he could've slid all the way to the teens and twenties. And the best part is that he's already outperformed the careers Bleacher Report projected him to have. To sum it up, the San Antonio scouts have still got it.
The Mozgov deal painted the modern blueprint of how talent-starved and seemingly trapped teams can help one another. And if Marks thought about that move, you can rest assured that San Antonio's front office also has it in their bag. De'Aaron at age 30 and 31, even making as much money as he will be, is going to demand more of a return than Mozgov and DLo did. And with how well they draft, it might be the San Antonio pulls this move anyway, regardless of how Fox performs.
To conclude: De'Aaron Fox likely isn't a max contract player, especially not at this stage of his career. But Wemby's window starts now, and San Antonio still has a few years before they have to pay him, Harper, and Castle. They have the money to play with, and Fox gives them nothing more than the time to develop their young core while still keeping the Spurs in playoff contention, then this deal will have been worth it. And the best part is that even if he doesn't pan out, the Spurs not only have Plan B's that they can pivot to, but Plan B's that might even be the preferred path for them.
So quiet the alarm bells in your head -- especially the San Antonio fans out there. This isn't the John Wall Deal, and the Spurs are not the Washington Wizards. Fox is better and more available than Wall was, and San Antonio is run by actual functioning adults.
In fact, this deal might just have opened up your championship window for even more time than it was slated for.