De’Aaron Fox bypasses Kings’ three-year contract extension – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

Kings superstar De’Aaron Fox is eligible for a hefty contract extension, but don’t expect the All-NBA guard to sign a deal any time soon.

Fox is forgoing a three-year, maximum $165 million contract extension this year in favor of a more lucrative deal in the 2025 NBA offseason, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday, citing sources.

Fox also reportedly decided not to sign a contract extension with Sacramento in the 2024 offseason because he first wanted to see how Sacramento’s roster was positioned for sustained success.

The Kings delivered some of the long-term stability Fox seeks by securing the services of coach Mike Brown with a three-year, $30 million contract extension.

“We always talk about having that kind of stability,” Fox said in June. “It doesn’t mean you want to stagnate or anything like that, it’s just knowing that you’re going to have some kind of core and then a coach – obviously in this league.” [ex-Detroit Pistons coach] Monty Williams was just fired today, so things could change at any time in the blink of an eye.

“You never know. But just feeling like you have that stability for the future is definitely great and you want to build on that.”

Since being selected No. 5 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, Fox has been a cornerstone of the franchise, helping build Sacramento into a Western Conference contender while breaking a 16-year playoff drought.

In November 2020, Fox signed a five-year, $163 million contract extension with the Kings, tying him to Sacramento through the 2025-26 NBA season. From 2020-21 to 2023-24, Fox averaged 25.8 points, 5.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds and earned All-NBA Third Team honors in 2022-23.

Although Fox is entering his eighth NBA season, he is only 26 years old, and his youth allows the Kings to potentially continue to build around a star in the prime of his career.

It remains to be seen whether Sacramento can sign Fox to another contract extension, with a resolution not expected until next summer at the earliest.

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