RealGM

NOP trades: Zion Williamson
SAS trades: De'Aaron Fox

caveat - let's say Williamson's legal issues are resolved by the trade deadline, so this happens once that occurs.

Why SAS does it: get a hypothetical perfect fit next to Wemby for a piece that has become possibly redundant.
Why NOP does it: move on from Zion and put together a really interesting trio of Fox-Murphy-Jones.

Obviously the Spurs say no, both because of their promise to Fox, and because Zion has far less value than Fox given his issues.

Content Removed, nothing about the substance of the post affected -- Chuck I don't know where to begin on this one. I mean, does lazy, dettached teammate who has some of the worst availability in the NBA and was just accused of rape sound like a Spurs target? Seriously?

Spurs hang up the phone

Spurs wouldn’t do it. But if Zion got his crap together that team would be insane. A healthy Zion and Wemby are the two best prospects in like the past 10+ years. I think you would have to go back to AD to find another top draft pick with as much hype as those guys. Extremely risky….but kind of a cool concept.

If we go by the premise OP wrote, happening at trade deadline and legal issue resolved…

Then Fox is likely extended on a new max deal, because SAS promised. So it’s probably a pretty fair trade?

NOP should really keep Zion or enter a rebuild though imo. Don’t love adding Fox here.

There aren’t many scenarios where Zion goes out and a better player comes in. If Zion can’t carry this group, Fox won’t be able to either.

babyjax13 wrote:NOP trades: Zion Williamson
SAS trades: De'Aaron Fox

caveat - let's say Williamson's legal issues are resolved by the trade deadline, so this happens once that occurs.

Why SAS does it: get a hypothetical perfect fit next to Wemby for a piece that has become possibly redundant.
Why NOP does it: move on from Zion and put together a really interesting trio of Fox-Murphy-Jones.

terrible for both teams.

Pels have money tied up on small guards already, Fox isn't a star to build around. Fox would probably be disgruntled so that would be toxic in minutes. bad fit. Spurs also would be taking a completely unnecessary risk in adding Zion for a known quantity.

Fox is... fine. He's had one season when his scoring efficiency was (barely) above league average and his signature skill is probably just his speed (which doesn't age well). He's probably best as your third or fourth starter. Zion is a force unto himself, a FAR superior player to Fox, but only when he can get on the court (which is infrequent); dreadfully immature.

Interestingly, despite playing in 2.5x the games, Fox's career VORP is only marginally higher than Zion's. Probably an even trade on value; a better fit and a better player for the Spurs, but paradoxically less desirable for them at the same time.

The Spurs quite easily say no. Zion Williamson has basically no value at this point due to his issues and he's simply not a reliable player. I also don't see it from the Pelicans side neither due to fit concerns between Dejounte Murray and De'Aaron Fox and tying up so much money between this backcourt duo makes no sense.

Fox has much more value than Zion.