fbpx
Mar. 29, 7:00 PM
DAL @ SAC
Mar. 31, 6:00 PM
UTH @ SAC
Apr. 02, 7:00 PM
LAC @ SAC
Apr. 04, 4:30 PM
SAC @ NYK
Apr. 05, 4:30 PM
SAC @ BOS
Apr. 07, 4:30 PM
SAC @ BKN
Apr. 09, 5:00 PM
SAC @ OKC
Apr. 11, 7:00 PM
NOH @ SAC
Apr. 12, 7:30 PM
PHO @ SAC
Apr. 14, 12:30 PM
POR @ SAC

Season Review: De’Aaron Fox

Will the real De'Aaron Fox please stand up?
By | 34 Comments | Apr 26, 2022

Mar 9, 2022; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) calls out to teammates during the third quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Is De’Aaron Fox good enough to be a franchise cornerstone?

For the last half-decade, the Kings have been trying to decipher that riddle. There have been moments, and perhaps even an entire 2020 season, of clear evidence that Fox can be the superstar that leads this franchise out of the wilderness. There have also been many valleys of poor play among those occasional peaks. Heading into the 2021 campaign, Kings fans wished for nothing more than to finally stamp a yes or a no on Fox’s future as the future of this franchise, yet his performance this season did nothing but add more confusion to this five-year long discussion.

Ask any handful of Kings fans about Fox’s place as the number one option for this team, and you’re likely to get a handful of answers. Some would say he’s the best player on a bad team, and somebody has to put up numbers. Others think he’s a solid starting point guard, but his ceiling is that of a fringe All-Star. Still another faction fanatically believes in his future as a perennial All-NBA player and top-15 player in the league.

For those who wish to believe that Fox simply isn’t good enough, they need only glance at his lack of any development in two key areas: his lackluster, getting worse by the day defense, and his severe lack of three-point shooting. Fox’s 29.7% accuracy from deep this season was within a half-percentage point of the worst mark of his career, and it also ranked 119th of 123 NBA players who recorded at least four attempts from beyond the arc.

And while his outside shooting was always a huge question mark even in college, Fox’s defense has regressed each season to the point of being nearly laughable, outside of the occasional three-possession run in which he offers some level of effort. De’Aaron often chooses to die on screens, rather than fighting through them, leaving his wings and bigs to cover opposing point guards, as evidenced by his 13th percentile ranking in defending pick-and-rolls, but he really fails in every defensive category imaginable:

Category Ranking Percentile
Overall Defensive FG% Differential 205 of 219 7th
3P Defensive FG% Differential 62 of 76 18th
Rim Defensive FG% Differential 129 of 134 4th

Of course, there is a counter to Fox’s atrocious defense – that five years with the Kings will break anyone’s will to defend. And while that may or may not be true, the fact remains that De’Aaron was one of the least effective guard defenders in the league this season, and this was clearly the worst year of his career in that regard.

For those who view Fox as a good-if-not-spectacular NBA point guard, the middle portion of this past season, and the median of his play this year, serves to justify their position. Fox’s disappointing start to 2021 can be written off as De’Aaron playing into shape or recovering from COVID or pouting because of roster composition or whatever may have been the cause, while the last 15 games or so can be attributed to playing against bad teams and Fox’s typical late-season explosion. Meanwhile, the middle 25-ish games paint a more accurate representation of Fox as a player. Over that span, Fox’s three-point shooting and defense were still poor, but his overall efficiency and level of aggression saw a significant uptick, as he put up 21.9 points, 4.1 boards, and 4.8 assists per game while still sharing ball-handling duties with Tyrese Haliburton. It’s not hard to squint and see a 24 and 7 season with Haliburton’s usage out of the picture.

Finally, there are games for the De’Aaron Fox acolytes. Post-trade Fox was an entirely different beast from his early-season self, and he was genuinely one of the best players in the league over that 15 game span, putting up around 29 and 7 while knocking down 38% of his 5.8 three-pointers per game. Those are the numbers of a franchise cornerstone, and the folks that still believe in his future as a top-15 player in the league need look no further than that stretch. It’s entirely possible that the combination of handing the reigns back to Fox by trading Tyrese Haliburton, and the addition of Domantas Sabonis, unlocked a version of Fox that the entire league should fear. De’Aaron has never shared the court with a player of Sabonis’ caliber, and Domantas’ ability to act as a secondary initiator from the low and high post, operate as another go-to bucket-getter, dominate the boards, and find his point guard for catch-and-shoot three-pointers could help to create the most optimized version of De’Aaron Fox that Kings fans have ever witnessed.

So which player is De’Aaron Fox? No one truly knows.

For the last three years, Fox’s seasons have followed a similar rhythm. For around 20 games, usually toward the start of the season, he plays at a subpar level for a guy who’s supposed to be the franchise cornerstone. For around 20 games, usually toward the middle of the year, he contributes at an acceptable, borderline-exciting level for a franchise cornerstone. For around 20 games, usually toward the tail end of another miserable year in Sacramento, he blows up and dominates nightly. Add in 20 games missed due to injuries or end-of-year tanking, and anyone who has any reasonable opinion of De’Aaron Fox can find reasonable evidence for their arguments.

After a half-decade in the league, a five-year max contract, and the title of “the guy” since the moment De’Aaron Fox was drafted, these massive spikes and dips in production can no longer happen, or the Kings probably need to find themselves another solution at the number one spot. Ask any reasonable Hawks fan if Trae Young can be the foundational player for their team, and there will be no answer but a resounding yes. The same can be said of Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, and many other young players. Ask any Kings fan if De’Aaron Fox can be the foundational player of this franchise, and a shrug of the shoulders and something around “hopefully” will probably encompass the most common response.

It feels like a harsh sentiment, but De’Aaron Fox was a worse NBA player this season than last, and while there are a myriad of causes, from Fox himself, to sharing ball-handling duties with two other point guard for the majority of the year, to bad coaching, to a bad roster, to simply playing for the Sacramento Kings, the point remains that De’Aaron himself simply wasn’t as good year to year. His end-of-year explosion was the best stretch of his career, but the lows were also far too low for a guy starting the first season of a five-year max deal.

Heading into the 2021 NBA season, Kings fans wanted nothing more than for De’Aaron Fox to establish himself as the absolute, unquestionable franchise cornerstone they’ve been craving for the past fifteen years. Unfortunately, his erratic performance did nothing to solve the riddle of his place in this franchise. Perhaps next season, with a new coach, a Robin to his Batman, and another lottery pick, De’Aaron Fox can finally establish himself as a clear number one option for a successful, playoff-bound team.

Patreon Membership
* indicates required


To prevent spam, our system flags comments that include too many hyperlinks. If you would like to share a comment with multiple links, make sure you email [email protected] for it to be approved.
Subscribe
Notify of
34 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Marty
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
April 26, 2022 3:01 pm

It’s been said many times….. Westbrook Lite.

RobHessing
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Author
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Author
April 26, 2022 3:10 pm
Reply to  Marty

I would have gone with John Wall lite – Westbrook has a baseline to baseline motor.

BestHyperboleEver
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
April 26, 2022 4:24 pm
Reply to  RobHessing

Wall was an excellent defender and arguably the best in the league at creating open 3s for teammates.

Adamsite
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
April 26, 2022 5:22 pm

That’s why he is Wall lite.

Maybe a more fair comp is Monta Ellis. Never an all-star, put up good numbers, was the best player on bad Warrior teams, but didn’t really make those around him better and was eventually traded to make room for a real franchise cornerstone.

I still wonder if McNair traded the wrong guard, and I think we will have a definitive answer in another year.

sonny
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
April 26, 2022 6:10 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

imo, McNair traded the wrong guard but Indiana really wanted Hali not Fox so we would have not gotten Sabonis.

Fox just doesnt have IT.

AnybodyButBagley
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
April 26, 2022 8:26 pm
Reply to  sonny

A max deal second tier point guard or Haliburton?

The entire league sees the reality of Fox.

AnybodyButBagley
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
April 26, 2022 5:03 pm
Reply to  Marty

Good point. Westbrook minus any winning seasons and all star votes.

sonny
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
April 26, 2022 6:11 pm

Fox with 0 winning seasons and 0 All star votes!

nice contract though.

AnybodyButBagley
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
April 26, 2022 7:56 pm
Reply to  sonny

Fox and his agent are winning.

Marty
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
April 26, 2022 7:15 pm

That’s the Lite part.

AnybodyButBagley
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
April 26, 2022 7:57 pm
Reply to  Marty

A good analogy.

outrider
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
April 26, 2022 4:02 pm

So maybe it would’ve been a good thing for Doncic to take the ball out of his hands? Hmmm.

Fringe all star seems right for his career arc.

sonny
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
April 26, 2022 5:00 pm
Reply to  outrider

We could’ve had Luka and traded Fox for a 2way wing.
And the rest is history

AnybodyButBagley
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
April 26, 2022 5:06 pm
Reply to  outrider

Luka’s dad was an issue as well. Cannot forget that.

BestHyperboleEver
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
April 26, 2022 4:36 pm

I think framing him as a “Batman” for a good team has always been an issue. I don’t think he’s ever shown that type of ceiling. Not as a prospect. Nor at any point as a pro. Every season, non-stars put up 15 games stints with great numbers. Then regression hits them in the gut. In general, I’m okay with overhyping players. The issue comes when the FO makes decisions based on the overhype. If we’re building a theoretical “good team,” Fox is probably closer to a Robin or Batgirl-ish player. I mean, to be the “the guy” doesn’t he have to at least be the best player on the roster?

Last edited 1 year ago by BestHyperboleEver
Adamsite
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
April 26, 2022 5:35 pm

Doh, I should have read your comment before I used the same Batman and Robin analogy. Hat tip.

richie88
Comments
Original Member
Vote Up
Comments
Original Member
Vote Up
April 26, 2022 11:53 pm

I thought he could be a “Batman” as a prospect, but he hasn’t been a “Batman” in the NBA. It seems like his ceiling is being a “Robin”.

Carl
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
April 27, 2022 4:46 pm

Yeah, I think Fox is more Batgirl (#3) than Robin (#2). If Fox is your #2, your #1 has to be better than Sabonis. Now maybe if you have one #2 guy (Sabonis) and two #3 guys (Fox and an equal talent) you can be a #5-#8 seed, which is OK. But I don’t think you’re really better than that.

eddie41
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
April 27, 2022 8:37 pm

Meanwhile, Iman Shumpert is dancing with the stars.

1951
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
April 26, 2022 4:45 pm

Well, he played less than 60 games for the third year in a row, so he should be well rested for next year!

AnybodyButBagley
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
April 26, 2022 5:10 pm

The idea that Fox grows into the All Star savior is another false narrative the Kangz have used to keep people paying.

Fox is what he is at this point.

Over paid streaky role player who has decided that defense is work he will not do. Occasionally he will shoot the team to a win but at the detriment of team basketball.

Adamsite
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
April 26, 2022 5:30 pm

Fox just put up the second worst year of his 5 year career, besting only his rookie year. Cornerstone he is not.

There may be some marginal growth with a new coach and/or more time with Sabonis or whoever, but at this point he is who he is. There is nothing wrong with that because he’s a damn good basketball player, but there are somewhere between 40-50 NBA players that are better than him. He’s not even a top 10 PG right now.

The Kings have two excellent Robins in Sabonis and Fox, but they still need that Batman to lead the way.

JackassCentral916
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
April 26, 2022 8:09 pm

So which player is De’Aaron Fox?

Yes.

RikSmits
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
April 27, 2022 6:51 am

Bingo.

This most likely is Fox.

The inconsistent motor. The slow starts. The tantalizing 10 game or so streaks. The bad defense. The stretch with a complete lack of effort and horrible body language. The middling leadership. The ankle ‘situation’ and other injuries. The good and loose play once the hole the team dug itself is too deep to climb out.

Can it change for the better with another star to shield and help him? Perhaps. But a lot has to go right for it to happen.

Gregoryl
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
April 26, 2022 11:25 pm

He continues to look great in meaningless games!

BasketballHella
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
April 26, 2022 11:37 pm

I just want to go back to the arguments over Ja Morant being neck and neck with fox talent wise.

Back to before we’ll all we needed to do was go 2-7 twice instead of those 9 straight losses twice.

Back to where swipa meant fast hands and quick steals, not swipa the money with no results.

RikSmits
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
April 27, 2022 6:59 am

That was such a mindblowing quote.

BasketballHella
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
April 27, 2022 9:46 am
Reply to  RikSmits

That was honestly where it ended for me. I thought he wasn’t giving that effort anymore on D because he was getting tired of carrying the offensive load. The quote just showed he was tired of giving a shit. Results on D all year back it up.

RobHessing
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Author
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Author
April 27, 2022 8:13 am

The Fox conundrum can be summed up by looking at this year’s three top Most Improved Players:
3 – Darius Garland
2 – Dejounte Murray
1 – Ja Morant

Even if you buy into Fox improving incrementally, he is losing ground at the PG position, in some cases to players that came into the league after he did (Young, Doncic and SGA if you want to call them PGs, Morant, perhaps Garland and LaMelo Ball).

NowLoveThemOnceAgain
Comments
Comments
April 27, 2022 9:41 am

Thorough assessment. Why not ask De’Aaron himself for the answer? With one of the most celebrated guard defenders in recent NBA history coaching on the bench (Doug Christie), one has to wonder whether Fox’s lackluster defense is due to individual coaching versus an overall poor defensive scheme. Many fans have remarked on the inordinate amount of defensive switching that goes on, leaving opponents wide open or mismatched with big man on the perimeter. Personally I think he can be the cornerstone and a top guard in the league. Having Sabonis will really help.

PretendGhost
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
April 27, 2022 2:56 pm

Fox has the talent to be a top 5 PG in this league. He has a handful of elite skills — finishing at the rim, scoring from 5-15 feet, running the PnR, and creating contact to get to the FT line. His (peak) athleticism is only matched by Ja among PG’s. The only PG skill he really lacks on the offensive end is 3 point shooting.

He had a good defensive reputation before getting drafted, and in his 2nd year looked like he might end up being at least adequate on that end, with moments of greatness in the form of heroic chasedown blocks and an impressive eye for steals when defending off the ball. I still think about him all but shutting down Luka 1 on 1 in the first matchup against Dallas. The tools are there.

That’s a whole lot of if’s.

From an outsider’s perspective, it looks like the issue could be his own drive. It does not seem like he aspires to greatness — greatness doesn’t phone in the defensive end to the extent he does. Maybe he’s burnt out. There’s nothing wrong with that; he is human, after all, and owes none of us a damn thing. But it does affect whether or not a franchise (or fanbase) can depend on him to elevate the team.

Maybe finding the right coach will fix that. Maybe playing with someone of Sabonis’s caliber will push him to new heights. I admire Domas’s constant effort and alertness on the floor, and the supportive attitude he brings to his comrades on the floor — that can be infectious when it’s coming from one of your franchise cornerstones.

I am in the camp that believes the Kings traded the wrong guard. There would’ve been a taker for Fox this summer or next year, and the duo of Mitchell/Haliburton makes a ton of sense on paper. Hopefully Fox can still be a cornerstone to a turnaround in the next season or two. We have no choice but to find out now.

Last edited 1 year ago by PretendGhost
BestHyperboleEver
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
April 27, 2022 4:49 pm
Reply to  PretendGhost

Running the PnR:

PPP – 0.90
Rank – 57th (among players with at least 2 PnR ball-handler possessions a game)
Percentile – 66th percentile

Scoring on drives (“finishing at the rim”):

Shooting % – 51.8
Rank – 31st among guards with at least 1 driving bucket a game.

Scoring from 8-16 feet (I wasn’t willing to collect data on 5-15 feet exactly as I would have had to do actual work):

Shooting % – 46.8
Rank – 27th among guards with more than 1 attempt in that range per game.

“Creating contact to get to the FT line:”

FTA per game – 5.9
Rank – 9th among guards

Now, we could quibble over what “elite” means, but the only thing there that could possibly be considered debatably elite would be his ability to draw shooting fouls. Ironically, we also hear nothing but whining about how he never gets calls.

Fox has 1 elite element to his game. His ability to get into the paint and to the rim is absolutely without question elite. All of his positive stats stem from there. It’s how he scores his most efficiently. It’s how he gets his assists. It’s how he gets to the line. His ability to handle tightly and play with control at warp speed is THE factor that makes Fox what he is. Is it enough to carry him to a top 5 PG level? Personally, I don’t think so. But I would certainly love to be proven wrong on that.

I don’t think the thing that’s holding him back is his effort or even his outside shooting. I just don’t think he has special BBIQ. Especially for his position/role. I don’t think he reads the game at the type of level needed to be truly elite. It’s why he struggles so much in defending team actions. It’s why he struggles to facilitate at a high level in the half court and can’t quit figure out how to be effective without the ball.

None of this is to say he’s bad. He’s a very good NBA player. He’ll probably put up a couple outlier-ish 3PT% seasons that vault him into the All-Star range. It’s just to say that I don’t think the Kings can or should count on strategies that rely upon Fox becoming an elite (let’s say TOP 25ish) player.

Kingsguru21
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
April 28, 2022 1:07 pm

 It’s just to say that I don’t think the Kings can or should count on strategies that rely upon Fox becoming an elite (let’s say TOP 25ish) player.

I’m pretty sure they are, right or wrong (most here will deem it wrong). And they are going to bet that Sabonis will unlock area’s of Fox’s game that weren’t as accessible without a player of Sabonis’ caliber around.

Will it happen? I don’t know. I’m on the fence if he can make a leap for all the reasons people have pointed out. As bad as the franchise has been in handling Fox, Fox hasn’t done himself any real favors either. I feel like, in year 6, this is the first time there will be at least a talented roster to make the playoffs (although I felt that coming into this year, too), a head coach and GM on the same page for at least a year that is a potentially fruitful pairing (didn’t feel that way about Divac and Walton and I hadn’t really felt strongly whatsoever about Walton and whether or not he’s a good coach), and perhaps a franchise that actually engages in productive behavior.

While I’m not willing to give Fox a pass or a mulligan, I’m not willing to blame him for Ranadive’s managing style either. It’s a tough call, and I think the franchise will bank on Fox for one simple reason: They have no other choice. And, like it or not, De’Aaron Fox is the one guy who has franchise talent on this team.

Now, I realize most people disagree fundamentally (in some cases from day one) with that statement about Fox, and fine, that is what it is. That’s just rehashing more of the old bullshit over the last half decade. The question is can you put a competent GM and HC, have a great summer (whatever that looks like in trade, the draft etc etc), get internal growth from the roster, and what not? Eh, who knows. But that’s what it’s looking like. Those who don’t like it won’t like it unless it works, and even then some won’t even admit it did work even when it had.

And so it goes.

oshima9
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
April 27, 2022 3:00 pm

Fox is a a ball dominant PG who doesn’t defend. Not a path to success in today’s NBA.

Badge Legend

Patreon Supporter Patreon Supporter   Registered On Day 1 Registered On Day 1   Published Post Published Post  Published Post Nostradumbass
Comment Up Votes 200 Up Votes   Comment Up Votes 500 Up Votes    1,000 Up Votes    3,000+ Up Votes

Comments 50 Comments   Comments 100 Comments    250 Comments    500 Comments    1000+ Comments