Bucks Could Go After Multi-Time All-Star Following Trade Drama

There's trouble in paradise for the 24-24 Sacramento Kings.

Granted, only the Kings would consider a .500 record and the Western Conference's No. 10 seed "paradise," but such has been the issue for Sacramento since its Chris Webber-era halcyon days of the early 2000s. The Kings have made only one playoff appearance since 2006, a seven-game first round upset loss to the Golden State Warriors in 2023.

Understandably, All-Star point guard De'Aaron Fox had been rumored to be forcing his way out of town, per Shams Charania of ESPN.

JUST IN: The Sacramento Kings are expected to open up talks to potentially deal All-Star De'Aaron Fox ahead of Feb. 6 trade deadline, sources tell ESPN. There will be plenty of suitors, but it's believed that Fox has a target destination in mind ahead of 2026 free agency. pic.twitter.com/Oh3fXgZjm3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 28, 2025

Now, that has indeed happened. Fox has reportedly landed in San Antonio as part of a three-time deal with the Kings and Chicago Bulls, which now lands former two-time All-Star guard Zach LaVine, a rumored Bucks trade target himself, in Sacramento.

Full trade:

Spurs: De'Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin

Kings: Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first round picks (2025 CHA, 2027 SAS, 2031 MIN), three second round picks (2025 CHI, 2028 DEN, 2028 own back)

Bulls: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, their own 2025 pick via SAS https://t.co/UgwylCUYAO
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2025

Could the fallout of the Fox deal be additional trades for three-time All-Star center Domantas Sabonis and six-time All-Star small forward DeMar DeRozan?

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DeRozan, for one, seemed to indicate before the trade that he was open to a change of scenery if Fox were to be flipped. He talked about the drama during a recent interview on FanDuel TV's "Run It Back."

“A key player, key juggernaut in Fox, not knowing the future of that, it does make it tough.” 😳

Demar Derozan says that it would be tough to consider a long term future with the Kings amid a De’Aaron Fox trade.

Could the Kings lose both superstars?@MichelleDBeadle |… pic.twitter.com/XnIPspQF5K
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 30, 2025

“Yeah, it's tough, because looking at the landscape, before I came here, those [are] the guys I talked to was Fox, Domas [Sabonis] and Malik [Monk]. Those [were] the core guys that made it easy for me to make my decision to play here. A key player, key juggernaut in Fox, not knowing the future of that, it does make it tough."

This season, DeRozan is logging averages of 21.6 points while slashing .485/.327/.862, plus 3.8 boards, 3.6 dimes and 1.2 swipes per game in 42 healthy contests.

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"I don't have much time left," DeRozan said. "I'm not trying to play another five years, trying to maximize the opportunity we have now to play with a great team. You never know when dominoes fall the wrong way when it comes to [an] organization it makes it tough. So it's something that we've just got to weigh out and see, and in the meantime just make the most of it. So we'll see how it pans out.”

Would the Milwaukee Bucks, clearly in need of some kind of improvement, be open to making a swing for DeRozan's services at Thursday's trade deadline?

He's durable, a solid ball handler, an efficient post presence and an elite scorer from the midrange, albeit not much of a floor-spacer or defender. DeRozan would be a Khris Middleton upgrade in most respects, but he would still leave the Bucks vulnerable on the wing if they allocated significant minutes for him.

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