Delusion has struck way too many individuals after the Spurs and De'Aaron Fox agreed to terms on a max contract. Someone has to talk sense into these people. An OKC Thunder writer really sat down and typed up a piece stating that Oklahoma City is the "biggest winner" of San Antonio's deal with their speedy point guard.
Another writer on our very own Air Alamo site claimed that San Antonio massively overpaid Sacramento's former franchise star because he's supposedly "not a top-30 player." These accusations and statements are as hysterical as they are ridiculous, and they aren't based in any kind of reality, so I'll be happy to take them apart point by point.
De'Aaron Fox just entered his prime
The first thing the OKC writer Braxton Reynolds does is compare Fox to Bradley Beal and the massive contract that was seen as a headache for Washington, but he's forgetting something very important. The Spurs are not Washington. San Antonio has a much stronger, younger, and more dynamic core around De'Aaron Fox. The Wizards were paid Beal when their team wasn't built to do anything but frustrate their fans.
Beal's best years were in 2019 and 2020. He averaged 30 and 31 points those seasons, but his usage was sky-high—top five and top 10—and he's always been a turnstile on defense without great leadership qualities. That does not describe Fox. His best year was the 2023-24 season, so it wasn't very long ago at all.
He averaged 27 points, five rebounds, six assists, two steals, and was 15th in usage rate. He's never entered the top ten in that statistic and is usually in the 20s. His offensive game is more efficient than Beal's; he plays better defense, he's a much stronger leader, and he's only 30% of the cap on a team with young players on great deals, unlike Beal, who was 34-35% of his team's cap over the past 4 seasons.
That doesn't even take his clutch-scoring ability into account. Over 1/4 of NBA games are decided by five points or fewer, so having a guy who can reliably come up big in those situations can be the difference between making the playoffs and not, or even getting home court advantage in the first round.
Clutch time points since '22-23:
1. DeMar DeRozan: 473
2. De'Aaron Fox: 416
3. Steph Curry: 415
4. Jalen Brunson: 401
5. Trae Young: 397 https://t.co/qxZlvUpQ43
— Dan Weiss (@DanWeissPBP) August 4, 2025
You can't directly compare NBA contracts without nuance
He's then bagged on because he's earning money similar to Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, and Tyrese Haliburton. Luka signed a deal that would let him hit free agency for a bigger payday down the line. Cade has only had one true breakout year, and Tyrese Haliburton was just called overrated by his peers, but now he's a gold standard for contracts? Please
If you want to complain about his deal rivaling Edwards, I'd tell you that timing is everything. He signed that deal two years ago. Comparing the two doesn't take into account rising caps and market value.
The next suggestion was that he should have signed for four years at $177 million to put him in line with Tyrese Maxey, who's benefited from playing next to Joel Embiid, and LaMelo Ball. Again... timing is everything. Both of those players signed max-rookie extensions when they agreed to those deals. It was the most they could get. It wasn't like they took a discount. Why should Fox? That's silly.
Fox fits perfectly with Wembanyama and the evolving NBA
The three-ball has become very important in today's game, so what do you think is about to follow next? Another shift. As teams continue to add guys who can guard the perimeter, you'll need guys who can attack the basket or get to the midrange effectively.
Of course, you need players who can knock down outside shots to force defenses to be overaggressive in running you off the line, but that doesn't have to be everyone's game. Not to mention that the lack of shooting ability for Harper and Fox is being overblown.
Harper shot 37% on catch-and-shoot opportunities last year, and the year before Fox busted the thumb on his shooting hand in the preseason, he shot 39% on those same looks. Nobody is paying attention to that. If Stephon Castle improves his shot—something that people seem to think is impossible—then there is nothing to bat an eye over.
The Thunder writer even goes as far as to suggest that having several rim-running guards plays into their hands because of the size of their frontcourt with Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Thomas Sorber. But Chet and Isaiah have both been put in the rim on several occasions. We'll see about Sorber, but you're going to have to show me first.
And midrange pull-ups, floaters, etc., can negate that size. It's not like these guys have never played against players taller than them before. They've done it their entire lives. All of this fear-mongering and doomsday talk is completely overblown and without merit. As far as the claim that he's not a top-30 player... HAHAHAHAHAHA. That should do it.