After establishing themselves as one of the best surprise teams of the 2018-19 season, the Sacramento Kings took a bit of a step back to start the 2019-20 campaign before coming on strong as the season went on, only to see it go on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. While it has been an up-and-down last few seasons, nobody can deny how important young point guard De'Aaron Fox is to the franchise.
Fox is currently in the third season of his four-year rookie contract, which means he's eligible for a contract extension in the offseason. Fox and the Kings have reportedly already started extension talks, but details are scarce, according to James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Given how Fox has proven not only to be a crucial piece on the Kings but also one of the most promising young point guards in the league, this should be a no-brainer for Sacramento. They have to sign the 22-year-old to an extension. The big question, however, is how much money they should be willing to spend to lock Fox up.
Ham laid out some scenarios for extension offers:
Sacramento has two “Designated Player” rookie-scale extensions to use. If the Kings choose to extend one to Fox, it would allow them to go beyond the league’s rule of a four-year extension and add a fifth year. With a remaining year on his current deal, that would potentially keep Fox in a Kings uniform for another six seasons beyond this one.
Offering one of these “Designated Player” extensions makes a lot of sense for the Kings. Keeping Fox on board for the longest possible time should be their utmost priority. They will need to dig deep into their pockets to do so, but at the end of the day, Fox is worth the risk and worthy of a max extension.
The former fifth overall pick is having an excellent season, averaging a career-best 20.4 points (on 47.5 percent shooting), 4.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per contest. While he has missed time due to injury and has struggled a bit with his 3-point shooting, he has improved in other areas of his game to make up for it.
Simply put, Fox has proven that he is cornerstone superstar material. He has become arguably the best player on the Kings, and at just 22, the potential remains to be sky high for the former Kentucky standout. Over his first three seasons in the league, his improvements have been impressive, and if he continues on the same path, then he could easily become a top-tier point guard in the league in the very near future.
It is in the best interest of the Kings to keep Fox, and we're predicting that this is exactly what they're going to do in the offseason. Sacramento has already invested a lot in the development of Fox, so the franchise is already committed to him. They've built a roster around their star point guard, and to some degree, it seems to be working.
Why stop now? Now is not the time to second-guess themselves, especially considering how Fox has developed to the player he is today. The Kings have been far from the best franchise in the NBA over the past decade or so, but with Fox, they are presented with an opportunity to become relevant again.
Presently, the Kings have a 28-36 record, which is 11th place in a ruthless Western Conference. Before the hiatus, they had been coming on strong, going 13-7 in their last 20 games and an even better 7-3 in their last 10.
Luckily for them, they still have an opportunity to make the playoffs this term, as they're one of the 22 teams included in the NBA restart at Walt Disney World. Both Fox and the Kings will have a lot riding on their performance the remainder of the season.
If Fox is somehow able to lead his team to a spot in the playoffs, then this should further prove just how much he deserves that max deal. Making it to the second round is going to be too big of an ask for Fox and the Kings at this point, especially considering how they will likely be facing a top side like the Los Angeles Lakers, if they actually make the postseason cut.
Nevertheless, even if Sacramento ends up missing the playoffs, it is still likely that De'Aaron Fox gets that max extension. It appears that he has done enough to prove his worth to the team at this point. Still, an impressive showing in Florida would certainly help his cause in terms of assuring that big-money deal.
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