ESPN Star Calls Out Sacramento Kings After De'Aaron Fox Trade

The offseason is off to a rough start for the Sacramento Kings. It has been less than 48 hours since the team received the disappointing confirmation that their 2025 first-round draft pick will officially be conveyed to the Atlanta Hawks, and rumors abound that they may need to trade one of their top performers because the current fit is not right.

To add insult to injury, the Kings are also catching strays from national media members regarding their midseason trade of star point guard De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs. On Wednesday, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith had this to say regarding the trade and the current state of the Sacramento organization:

"We need to give a lot of props to De'Aaron Fox, forcing his way out of Sacramento to insisting on being in San Antonio. ... That's a brilliant move on his part because Sacramento's on a fast track to nowhere."

Stephen A. Smith on First Take just now:

"We need to give a lot of props to De'Aaron Fox, forcing his way out of Sacramento to insisting on being in San Antonio. ... That's a brilliant move on his part because Sacramento's on a fast track to nowhere." 😬
— Tristi Rodriguez (@tristi_r14) May 14, 2025

First off - ouch. The phrase “fast track to nowhere” is a bit harsh. On the other hand, where is the lie? Is Stephen A. wrong? Kings GM Scott Perry has laid out the offseason strategy in general terms over the course of several press conferences and interviews, but specifics have been hard to come by.

There has been talk of building a “sustainable winner”, which, quite frankly, is a foreign concept to most Kings fans because it’s not something that Sacramento has seen outside of one five-year stretch in the early 2000s. Perry has also addressed some of the team’s biggest needs, such as additional length and athleticism up and down the roster.

Beyond that, there is really only the notion that the Kings will not look to embark on anything resembling a full-scale rebuild, and will instead opt to continue trying to “win now” by making moves that keep the team competitive in the short term. Unfortunately, to the ears of a majority of Kings fans, that sounds a lot like the organization saying, “We prefer to remain on the treadmill of mediocrity. Please keep buying tickets.”

For some, that could be viewed as being on the “fast track to nowhere”, as Smith called it. After all, this is a team that fired its head coach 31 games into this past season, just months after signing him to a contract extension. In addition, Mike Brown learned of his firing via phone call, even though the team had practice that same morning. The organization did not hold a press conference to address the firing.

BREAKING: Sacramento is finalizing a trade to send De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a multi-team trade that moves Chicago Bulls' Zach LaVine to the Kings, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Ftmo8N4hMj
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2025

Just weeks later, the Kings traded Fox as part of a blockbuster three-team deal that brought Zach LaVine to Sacramento. Over the next several days, various opinions on the trade itself and the reasons behind it came out, with plenty of heated debate on either side.

Some thought Fox forced his way out and was quitting on the team, in a sense. Others had the opposite viewpoint: that it was the organization that was giving up on Fox and making him (along with Mike Brown) the scapegoat for the team’s woes. Fox himself attempted to put the conversation to rest and clear things up by clarifying some of his own comments and giving some insight to what was happening in the locker room and behind the scenes. Fox also had a heartfelt message for Kings fans following the trade.

Do the Kings deserve the characterization that Stephen A. Smith had for them? Based on the team’s history, most would probably say yes. It will be up to the current front office team and coaching staff - as well as the players - to change that perception moving forward.

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