The San Antonio Spurs are on quite a run despite relying heavily on several young players. They finished the regular season second in the Western Conference with a 62-20 record. They also took down the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves on their way to the Western Conference Finals. The series is tied 1-1 right now.
The Spurs secured a 122-115 overtime win in Game 1, but the Thunder took Game 2 122-113. The most interesting part of this all: the Spurs are battling the defending champions without All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox, trusting youngsters Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper to keep the ship afloat in his absence.
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale recently listed Fox as a potential trade target for the Raptors alongside Trey Murphy III and LaMelo Ball to help address Toronto’s offensive limitations. The Spurs may be much more inclined to move on from Fox and his steadily growing salary, if Castle and Harper continue to play well and make the idea of fully leaning into their potential more intriguing. Harper left Game 2 with an injury, but it’s still uncertain if it will keep him out of any other games.
Castle is only in his second year and his first playoff run, and that inexperience has shown itself in high turnover numbers against the Thunder. But, in his defense, he’s not usually the team’s starting point guard, and he has never been in such high-pressure situations as a pro. He and Harper still have sky-high potential.
De’Aaron Fox could help the Raptors’ offense
Fox isn’t the most reliable 3-point shooter, knocking down 33.1% of his attempts for his career. That’s a tough skill to lack on a Raptors team already short on outside shooting—unless Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett’s uncharacteristically efficient 3-point shooting from the playoffs carries over to the regular season—but Fox also provides plenty of things the Raptors do need.
He is an All-Star guard, a 21.1-point scorer for his career, a great passer, and a very capable offensive creator. Putting him in the starting point guard spot for the Raptors could jumpstart their offense—with the right 3-point shooters around him and Scottie Barnes.
The question is just what it would take to get him. After all, the Spurs don’t have to be in a hurry to move on from him yet, and can field offers until they find something they love (unfortunately for the Raptors, they’re probably not looking to add Brandon Ingram or Jakob Poeltl). However, Favale noted that Fox “probably costs way less in assets than Murphy or LaMelo.”
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