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The Sacramento Kings, all things considered, did well for themselves despite having to navigate De'Aaron Fox's trade request. They were able to acquire a fringe All-Star talent (Zach LaVine) in exchange for him as well as a few first-round draft picks, allowing them to remain semi-competitive for this season and the next. However, losing Fox is still a big blow, as he was the franchise player the Kings committed to back in the early 2020s (choosing him over Tyrese Haliburton).
No longer having Fox around will be a major adjustment for the Kings, and for new starting point guard Malik Monk, he admitted that having the opportunity to play alongside his former teammate in Kentucky was what drew him to Sacramento in the first place.
“It was crazy because he was one of the reasons I came here for sure. But yeah we've got to move on. I know it's a business. By the looks of it, they say he wanted to be out of here, so he got what he wanted,” Monk said, via Sean Cunningham of FOX 40.
Malik Monk tries to explain tonight’s 130-111 loss to the Magic, evaluates his performance, reacts to losing De’Aaron Fox, addition of Zach LaVine and Jonas Valanciunas, as well as the future going forward. pic.twitter.com/bOQSawRMHV
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) February 6, 2025
There was no nonsense in the way Monk delivered his reaction to Fox's departure. This shows that there is not much room for sentiment in the business that is the NBA, as things can change ever so swiftly in professional sports. The Kings had to move on as well, and at the very least, they got ahead of it, trading Fox away and getting as much as they can without having to risk a major fall-off in the standings.
For Monk, he will now be tasked with handling the ball a lot more often now that Fox is with the Spurs. This could be a good opportunity for him to spread his wings even further with the Kings.
The Kings look to thrive in the post-De'Aaron Fox era
Losing a franchise cornerstone is always a sad experience for a fanbase. De'Aaron Fox was a homegrown talent for the Kings, as he flourished into an All-Star-caliber player after being drafted back in 2017. Nonetheless, the Kings had to do what's best for the franchise, and they could not have risked losing him for nothing, hence their decision to send him to the Spurs.
The Kings still have a core that should allow them to remain semi-competitive. The core four of Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, and DeMar DeRozan should be enough to keep them hovering around .500, although it's not quite clear if that would be enough to net them a postseason berth.