Don’t expect every player to follow Jalen Brunson’s lead.
The Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox is extension eligible this summer and could sign a three-year, $165 million extension to be tacked onto the $71.9 million he is owed the next two years. In a move that should surprise nobody, he is turning that offer to sign a much larger extension next summer, something ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
The reason is money. Next summer, Fox will be eligible for a four-year, $229 million extension (a deal worth an average of $2.25 million more a season than he can sign for right now, plus he gets an extra year of security). The bigger bet is if Fox can make All-NBA again this coming season (he made it in 2022-23), he can sign a four-year, $345 million supermax extension — which would make him the highest-paid player in NBA history (for a year, until Luka Doncic becomes eligible for an extension).
Whether or not he gets the supermax money, Fox receives an added year of security and more money on his contract by waiting, so he’s wisely going to do that. Never blame anyone for grabbing the largest bag they can.
Sacramento — with DeMar DeRozan added to All-Stars Fox and Domantas Sabonis — is going to win a lot of regular season games this season and has a legitimate shot to be a top-six seed in the West (the challenge is there are a dozen teams in the West that believe they are worthy of a top-six finish and avoiding the play-in). If that happens, Fox making an All-NBA team is absolutely in play, which means his bigger payday is as well. It’s another subplot to watch in what will be a wild West this season.
