The Kings have failed to consistently do the one thing De'Aaron Fox has asked for to help determine his future in Sacramento: Win.
This has led to an early check-in meeting between Fox's agent Rich Paul and Kings general manager Monte McNair and assistant general manager Wes Wilcox on Thursday, per The Athletic's Sam Amick and Anthony Slater.
The Kings played the Los Angeles Lakers later that night, with whom Paul has two of his top clients in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. But the reasoning for Paul's visit had nothing to do with the Lakers star duo and everything to do with Sacramento's rising superstar.
Paul met with McNair and Wilcox before the game, league sources told Amick and Slater, to discuss Fox's murky future with the Kings.
"The discussion, league and team sources said, was focused on a question that needs to be answered if this partnership that began eight seasons ago between Fox and the Kings is going to continue long term:
"What’s the plan here?"
Fox declined the Kings' three-year, $165 million contract extension offer before the start of the 2024-25 NBA season to wait and see how Sacramento's season ends. He wants to win at a high level, as he re-emphasized earlier this week on "The Draymond Green Show."
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"It has all to do with the team, the organization. Where are we going? I want to make sure that we're in a position to try and win in the future because that's ultimately what I want to do," Fox said on the podcast. "I feel like I'm continuing to get better as a player every year, but for me, it's are we looking like we're continuing to get better year after year? And are we going to be able to compete at a high level? That's all mine is.
"If we can show that this year, you sign the extension now. Obviously, I still have another year, but that's where my mindset is. I love the city. I love being here. I've raised my family here. I would love to be here, retire here. I mean how many people can say they played in one organization for their whole career? I want to be a part of that select few people. But at the end of the day, I also want to win."
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Through 28 games in the season, the Kings haven't looked like they can fulfill Fox's plea -- at least not with how the roster currently is constructed.
Paul sat next to Fox's wife, Recee, and the two, together, witnessed Sacramento's 113-110 loss to Los Angeles that dropped the Kings to 13-15 (6-9 at home) and 12th in the Western Conference.
It appears evident that the clock is ticking for Fox and the Kings, and something needs to change for Sacramento if it wants to keep its franchise star around long-term.
