Bill Simmons believes the Clippers and Spurs should explore a trade that would send Darius Garland to San Antonio in exchange for De’Aaron Fox and additional draft picks.
After the San Antonio Spurs' loss in the NBA Finals, questions have emerged about the future of star guard De'Aaron Fox.
Fox signed a massive four-year, $221.7 million extension with the Spurs, but the contract is now viewed as a potential burden for the franchise's future, especially after his struggles in the Finals against the New York Knicks and his infamous late-game decision in Game 4 that cost San Antonio an opportunity to tie the series.
Multiple trade scenarios involving Fox have already been floated, and another possibility has now emerged involving the Los Angeles Clippers, a franchise facing major long-term consequences following the Kawhi Leonard salary-cap circumvention scandal and one of the largest penalties in NBA history.
Simmons proposes Fox-Garland trade framework
De'Aaron Fox
De'Aaron Fox
De'Aaron Fox
Sports personality Bill Simmons proposed a scenario in which both teams could potentially address their respective roster and financial situations.
Under Simmons' hypothetical framework, Fox and additional draft compensation would be sent to the Clippers, while young star Darius Garland and his shorter contract would head to San Antonio.
"De'Aaron Fox, starting a four-year $221 million deal. If I'm the Clippers, I'm at least calling the Spurs and being like, yo, we have Garland. We love him. But if you want to talk about flipping four years of Fox [for] two years of Garland and throwing some of your stuff at us, we're happy to have the conversation," Simmons proposed on his podcast.
Simmons suggested that Garland's shorter contract could give San Antonio more financial flexibility as the Spurs prepare for future extensions involving Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper.
"And then if you're the Spurs, you're like, well, we messed up this Fox thing. We didn't realize we were going to get Harper when we did the, you know, the wink with the Fox extension. We were going to have to have money to pay Wemby and Castle and eventually Harper. Could Garland be a two-year stopgap now instead of four?"
Simmons also raised the possibility of San Antonio attaching some of its draft capital in order to move off the final years of Fox's deal.
"And could we use some of our picks and other stuff to basically get out of those last two years? And if you're the Clippers, you're like, well, De'Aaron Fox, veteran guy with Keaton Wagner kind of weirdly makes sense as [a] combo. We've seen both of those guys play off the ball and we could grab some more picks."
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