NBA Rumors: Kings Reveal Major Plan For De'Aaron Fox Ahead Of 2022 Trade Deadline

During the 2021 NBA offseason, the Kings have been telling everyone in the league that they have no plan to make Fox available on the trading block. However, recently, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee revealed that the Kings have expressed their willingness to trade Fox to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for All-Star center Domantas Sabonis.

"A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings have stepped up their pursuit of Indiana Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis and they are including Fox in those discussions," Anderson wrote.

In a recent article, Sham Charania of The Athletic also shared an interesting update on the rumors surrounding Fox's future with the Kings. As opposed to Anderson's report, Charania said that the Kings have no plan to trade Fox for Sabonis before the 2022 NBA trade deadline.

"The Kings remain active in trade conversations, informing teams in the marketplace that they want to build around Fox and second-year guard Tyrese Haliburton, sources said," Charania said, as quoted by NBC Sports. "The Kings have informed Fox and his representation, agent Chris Gaston of Family First Sports, that they do not want to trade him and want to center the team around him and Haliburton. Team sources said any potential deal around Fox for Pacers center Domantas Sabonis will not happen."

It's definitely a nice thing to hear for Fox and his camp that the Kings remain committed to building around him despite their recent struggle. However, even though they informed him about their plan, Fox should still prepare himself for the worse. As Dan Feldman of NBC Sports noted, the Kings told DeMarcus Cousins the same thing in his final season as their face of the franchise.

Two weeks after they said that they wouldn't move him and intended to sign him to a massive contract extension, Cousins still ended up being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The path that the Kings would be taking before the 2022 NBA trade deadline depends on their performance in the upcoming games. If they find a way to consistently win games and think that they have a realistic chance of ending their playoff drought, the Kings could become active buyers on the trade market.

However, if they continue to struggle and drop in the Western Conference rankings, the Kings are highly expected to trade some of their veterans and focus on the development of their young players. As Feldman noted, some of the potential trade candidates in Sacramento include Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield, and Marvin Bagley III.