Report: Sacramento Kings sign point guard De’Aaron Fox to max contract extension
The Sacramento Kings made a big move to shape the future of their franchise Friday, reportedly signing dynamic young point guard De’Aaron Fox to the richest deal in team history.
Sources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania the Kings signed Fox to a maximum five-year, $163 million deal with clauses to reach the $195.6 million super max. The deal was announced less than 90 minutes after free agency began.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported Fox will earn $28.1 million in 2021-22, $30.4 million in 2022-23, $32.6 million in 2023-24, $34.8 million in 2024-25 and $37.1 million in 2025-26. Those figures could be bigger if Fox makes an All-NBA team and the salary cap for the 2021-22 season exceeds current projections of $112 million.
Marks reported the contract includes bonuses of 26%, 28% or 30% if Fox is named first-, second-, or third-team All-NBA. The bonuses would reportedly bring Fox’s contract to $170 million if he becomes a third-team All-NBA selection, $183 million if he is a second-team selection and nearly $196 million if he earns first-team All-NBA honors.
@swipathefox sheeeeeeeesh congrats bro bro!
— Richaun Holmes (@Rich_Holmes22) November 21, 2020
Teammates react to news
Teammate Richaun Holmes was among the first to react to the news on social media, tweeting: “congrats bro bro!”
The Kings selected Fox, 22, out of Kentucky with the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He averaged a career-high 21.1 points, 6.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds last season after being a finalist for the Most Improved Player award in 2018-19.
Tyrese Haliburton, the player the Kings chose out of Iowa State with the No. 12 pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft, also took to social media, tweeting: “Dinner on you next week … congrats bro!”
Dinner on you next week @swipathefox Congrats bro!
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) November 21, 2020
Chris Gaston, Fox’s agent with Family First Sports, penned a tweet hinting a deal was in the works shortly after free agency began at 3 p.m. Fox hired Gaston, his former trainer, after parting ways with former agent Happy Walters in March 2019.
— Chris Gaston (@chrisgaston__) November 20, 2020
Fox committed to Kings’ future
In a series of interviews with The Sacramento Bee last season, Fox discussed his desire to remain with the Kings organization and bring winning basketball back to Sacramento after 14 consecutive losing seasons. The Kings haven’t been to the playoffs since 2006 — the longest active postseason drought in the NBA — but Fox intends to change that.
“I want to be here,” Fox told The Bee. before a January game in Chicago. “Obviously, I want to win, but I want to do it here. It’s been, what — 13, 14 years since the last time the Kings made the playoffs? I want to be a part of the first one.
“Obviously, we all want to win. There are some things we know we need to work on as a team, and I’m here for that. Every team has gone through it, probably not as long as the Kings have, but I want to be a part of that. I want to be able to get to the playoffs with this team, and, hopefully, when I’m a veteran in this league, be able to be a (championship) contender.”
