The Spurs can still afford to keep De'Aaron Fox despite his NBA Finals performance

De'Aaron Fox's struggles for the Spurs in the NBA Finals have been chronicled ad nauseam. We get it. He was terrible against the Knicks , save for a nice Game 2 and the biggest shot of his life to close Game 3. He wasn't much better in the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder . His postseason shooting splits -- 41.4% from the field, 29.4% from 3 -- are an eyesore.

On the flip side, Fox was an All-Star who scored at least 17 points in nine of San Antonio's first 11 playoff games. Even when his shot wasn't falling in the playoffs, and he struggled to create his typical rim pressure with a bum ankle, his pick-and-roll offense was arguably San Antonio's most reliable half-court weapon.

This is important to remember because the "what have you done for me lately?" crowd is ready to trade Fox right now. We all see Dylan Harper coming. He should be San Antonio's starting point guard next year. No argument there. Harper, the No. 2 pick in last year's draft, could very well be an All-Star next season and an All-NBA player before he signs a second contract. He's primed to be the Kobe to Victor Wembanyama's Shaq for the next decade-plus.

That makes Fox, who started out as a necessity when they traded for him at the 2025 deadline to give Wembanyama an immediate co-star and expedite their competitive timeline, a luxury moving forward. But he's a luxury the Spurs can afford while their three best players remain on rookie contracts. Wembanyama, Harper and Stephon Castle will make less than $40 million combined next season.

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In that context, Fox's $49.8 million salary for next season (the start of a four-year, $229 million deal) becomes a lot more palatable, as he currently stands to be the only player on San Antonio's roster making more than $27 million next year. The Spurs have some guys to take care of, notably Julian Champagnie (a starter on a $3 million team option that will likely be converted to a long-term deal) and possibly free agent  Harrison Barnes . But at present, they are $44 million below the luxury tax line and well beneath both aprons.

Wembanyama is currently eligible to sign a five-year, $251 million extension that would start in 2027-28, but even when that money hits the books, Castle and Harper will still be on their rookie deals. Castle's second contract will start in 2028-29. Harper's in 2029-30.

So even if Fox were to stay in San Antonio for the full four years of this deal, which won't happen, he and Harper's impending max money would only overlap for one season. That's three years away -- a lifetime in the NBA.

In the meantime, the Spurs are in full title-or-bust mode and Fox can still be a major part of that pursuit. ESPN reported Friday that the Spurs "remain committed to Fox as their starting point guard." However, that same reporting says it's expected that "calls from Harper's camp for a spot in the starting lineup will grow louder into next season."

That second part is key. Harper wants to start, and to restate the obvious, he should start. The Spurs could start the three-guard lineup with Harper, Castle and Fox, and if Fox isn't traded this summer, that's probably the best immediate option to keep everyone happy.

But the real value in keeping Fox would be turning him into Manu Ginobili -- the lefty speed demon with starter chops who comes off the bench for the good of a championship team. It's a hell of a lot of money to pay for a sixth man, especially when the Spurs already have the current Sixth Man of the Year in Keldon Johnson . But if Fox could swallow his pride, he likely wouldn't have a better shot at a championship than he would next year with San Antonio.

Let's also not just brush off the importance of depth. We always do that. We evaluate these teams based on optimal health, which almost never happens. On paper, in the offseason, when everyone is off sipping their vacation drinks, three starting guards seems like one too many, but in the guts of an 82-game season before another hopefully deep postseason run, you will likely be without at least one of them much of the time.

Most teams have to sit back and cross their fingers that their starting point guard doesn't go down. If he does, for any length of time at least, they're in major trouble, and if it happens in the postseason, they're done. But in San Antonio, that doesn't have to be the case.

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In a best-case scenario, Harper and Castle come back as more consistent shooters and the three-guard lineup works as a relentless drive-and-kick unit with proper spacing around Wembanyama. No matter what, being able to stagger three guards of this caliber so that you almost always have two of them on the court together would be the envy of every team in the league.

This isn't to say the Spurs shouldn't trade Fox if a good deal comes along. But it better be a really good one.

If you're doing it just because his shot was off and he committed a few boneheaded turnovers at a terrible time in a couple of playoff series, that's unnecessarily impulsive, if not outright irresponsible. This is a guy who averaged 25 points per game for the Kings two years ago. He's only 28 years old.

Sure, if the Spurs knew Harper was going to be this good this soon, they probably wouldn't have traded for Fox in the first place, and they certainly wouldn't have given him a $229 million extension. But that's all in the past, as is Fox's forgettable Finals. The future is all that matters. And while that future likely won't include Fox in San Antonio for the duration of this contract, there are plenty of reasons to argue that the marriage should continue for at least another season.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/deaaron-fox-trade-rumors-spurs-nba-finals/)._