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Get out of your own head. Gift cards are a perfectly acceptable present for loved ones.

What Does The Fox Trade?

Will the Kings deal their All-Star guard?

Sam Amick and Anthony Slater dropped a significant scoop on us this weekend regarding De’Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings. Before we get into it: Remember this past offseason? When Fox turned down a three-year, $165 million extension with Sacramento? The league’s most clutch player wanted to make sure the Kings were heading in the right direction, beyond his own role (with Domantas Sabonis, of course) in turning them around. He helped Sacramento end the longest playoff drought in NBA history. But things haven’t exactly progressed since.

Recently, Fox was on Draymond Green’s podcast, and the 27-year-old reiterated the reasons he gave The Athletic back in October for why he turned down the extension.

“I want to make sure that we’re in a position to try to win in the future, because that’s ultimately what I want to do. For me, it’s ‘Are we looking like we’re continuing to get better year after year, and ‘Are we going to be able to compete at a high level?’”

It’s interesting Fox said this, considering the Kings acquired DeMar DeRozan to join Fox and Sabonis this past summer. It was a clear sign that the status quo wasn’t going to fly in Sacramento. However, it hasn’t exactly yielded the results the team hoped for, as they’re currently sitting 13-17 on the season. Amick and Slater then dropped this in their article about teams possibly on the Fox prowl:

Meanwhile, rival executives are monitoring the Fox situation closely and league sources say one team in particular — the San Antonio Spurs — is positioning itself to pursue the Houston native as a possible partner for Victor Wembanyama, should Fox become available. Barring a significant Kings turnaround, others are surely close behind.

Rich Paul is Fox’s agent, and he’s one of the best in the business. He’s great at getting his clients to a new team — and a team of their choice. The Kings do have to be concerned about this on some level. Fox, who is averaging a team-high 26.2 points with a career-best 58.1 true shooting percentage, is under contract for $34 million this season and $37 million next season. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2026, and he’d be highly sought after if it gets to that point.

The Kings also don’t have a ton of options for taking big swings with their current roster in a trade scenario, unless they break up their trio. They could part with Keegan Murray in a potential deal if they’re trying to bring in more star talent to help Fox and company. The 24-year-old Murray is well-regarded around the NBA. But none of the Kings’ moves will matter should Fox decide they’re not headed in the right direction.

If Fox (27 years old) makes All-NBA this season, he’ll be eligible for a five-year, $345 million deal in his next contract. Teams are ready to leap at acquiring him, but I can’t imagine the Kings will have any actual interest in letting him play elsewhere.

The Last 24

OKC keeps its future defense intact

💰 Caruso cashes in. OKC gave 30-year-old Alex Caruso a four-year extension. Hello, $81 million.

🏀🏈 Cleveland sort of rocks! The Cavaliers and Browns could not be headed in more different directions. What happened? 

🏀 Bad Magic. Orlando is having more bad luck with injuries. Moe Wagner (ACL) is out for the year.

👋 Defense fixed? The Lakers have seen a surge in their defense. Is this real? 

🗣️ Best trash talker? Mikal Bridges has become one of the top trash-talkers in the league. How did that happen?

📺 Don’t miss this game tonight. Suns (14-13) at Nuggets (15-11), 10 p.m. ET on League Pass. Throw this one on as you’re wrapping presents or avoiding bonding with family!

Stock Report!

The East is up … the West is down

That subheading was not clickbait! Mostly because you’ve already clicked this email or the version on the website. So, that wouldn’t make sense. But it’s true that in this latest edition of the NBA Stock Report, the East is up and the West is down! Cats and dogs are living together! It’s madness. Here are the teams heading in the right and wrong directions on ye olde Stock Report.

📈 Cavaliers (25-4): After their historic 15-0 start to the season, the Cavs fell off a little bit. They lost three of their next five games and started coming back down to Earth. Well, they’re shooting back up into the stratosphere again. Cleveland has won eight of its last nine games, and just pushed the Bucks (15-12) back down some. The Cavs smacked them and have now won four in a row. Cleveland’s offense and defense are firing on every cylinder right now.

📉 Warriors (15-12): Golden State got a much-needed win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night, but it has yet to pull itself completely out of this funk. The Warriors’ great defense gave up 287 total points in a two-game stretch, including a 51-point loss to the Grizzlies. Golden State hasn’t been nearly as disciplined lately. And the team can’t hit a shot. I’m starting to wonder if this is the curse of Klay Thompson no longer being there. Is that a thing?

📈 Knicks (18-10): We’ve been marveling at New York’s offense all season long, but recently it’s been fueled by its defense. The Knicks have won eight of their last 10 games. In this stretch, they have wins over Charlotte (twice), New Orleans (twice), Orlando (twice) Toronto and Minnesota. Those teams won’t exactly remind you of the 2017 Warriors. However, the Knicks needed to prove they could stop somebody, and they did exactly that.

📉 Kings (13-17): As mentioned earlier, Sacramento isn’t doing so hot right now. The Kings were heading upward recently with a three-game win streak, but they’ve lost four in a row, including two games to the Lakers this past week. They also lost to Denver, and it was one of the best games of the season. They managed to score just 199 total points in two games against the Lakers, who do not have a good defense in the slightest … yet the Kings couldn’t score against them.

📈 Pacers (14-15): Over their last six games, they are looking a lot more like the team we saw for most of last season. They have won five of their last six games. Their defense has been surprisingly solid, and the offense is clicking once again. Everything is really balanced for them. Tyrese Haliburton is back to knocking down shots, and the Pacers have seven different players averaging double figures in scoring. Indiana is within shouting distance of moving into the top six in the East.

📉 Timberwolves (14-13): They’ve only lost two games in a row, and it was to the Knicks and Warriors. Those aren’t exactly terrible losses. After the loss to the Knicks by 26 points, Anthony Edwards told everybody, “We don’t have s— on offense.” He said the coaches have put them in position, but they’re not helping each other enough. When asked how to fix it, Edwards said the team wouldn’t like his answer and he’d keep it to himself. Let’s see if his speaking out finally fixes the offense.

Hall of Fame Possibilities

Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird highlight ballot

The Dr. James Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame gets a new batch of enshrinement candidates every single year. And this potential class of 2025 inductees is one of the strongest we’ve ever had. Let’s go through some of the professional candidates and whether we think they’ll make it.

Carmelo Anthony: While the internet had some strong opinions about Melo throughout his NBA career, he’s among the best scorers in league history. He is 10th all-time in points and had one of the most iconic NCAA championship runs ever with Syracuse. Will he make it? He’s a lock.

Micky Arison: The owner of the Miami Heat since 1995, Arison has helped guide the franchise to three NBA championships (2006, 2012, 2013). The organization has been a model for consistency and professionalism during his tenure. Will he make it? I believe so.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announces eligible candidates for the Class of 2025.

🔗 https://t.co/qAYBhHPn6K#25HoopClass pic.twitter.com/Cwj8Zqwz4f

— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) December 19, 2024

Sue Bird: She ranks among the greatest hoopers in basketball history. Bird is one of the five best players in WNBA history (four titles), she has a storied NCAA career (two titles), an iconic Olympic career (five gold medals) and won multiple championships overseas. Will she make it? This is another lock.

Billy Donovan: Donovan’s NBA coaching career hasn’t exactly been stellar, but his college career was exceptional. He won back-to-back titles at Florida in 2006 and 2007. His teams also made four Final Four appearances. Will he make it? At some point, I think so.

Marc Gasol: NBA champion. Great defender. Gasol had a phenomenal NBA career and is one of the more influential international players of the last 20 years, which is saying something. His success with Team Spain alone gets him in. Will he make it? No doubt.

Dwight Howard: He’s an all-time great defender in NBA history, especially as a big man. Howard had years of dominance that had people (briefly) questioning if he was more impactful than LeBron James. He’s among the brightest preps-to-pros success stories ever. Will he make it? Definitely a lock.

Maya Moore: One of the best players and winners in history. Moore is a former WNBA MVP and a four-time champion. She also won two gold medals and two NCAA titles. Moore cut her career short at the age of 29 to advocate for prosecutorial reform. Will she make it? She’s a lock.

Amar’e Stoudemire: Knee injuries cut short Stoudemire’s effectiveness and prime, but he had a six-season run averaging 23.6 points and 8.8 rebounds for the Suns and Knicks. He’s a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection who currently ranks 124th in career points. Will he make it? Injuries probably keep him out.

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(Top photo: David Berding  / Getty Images )