With the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder built for sustained long-term success, the Golden State Warriors are already going to find it difficult to be a legitimate contender once again even before factoring in another looming powerhouse in the San Antonio Spurs.
Led by Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs are building towards a surge right past the Warriors and many of their Western Conference rivals. However, one problem may now stand in their way and could gift Golden State a lifeline against a rising juggernaut.
The Spurs just made a blunder with De'Aaron Fox's contract
San Antonio signalled their ambitions by trading for All-Star guard De'Aaron Fox before the mid-season deadline, and have now doubled-down on the investment by handing the former King a four-year, $229 million max contract extension according to ESPN's Shams Charania on Monday.
While Fox is one of the league's best guards, this new mammoth deal also comes in the wake of Stephon Castle winning Rookie of the Year and the Spurs drafting Dylan Harper second overall in June's NBA Draft.
The question now becomes if all three can co-exist together, assuming that Castle continues to develop and that Harper comes as advertised. For now it's a good problem to have, but there's also a world in where it becomes overkill and proves a detriment to the team, particularly given all three aren't prolific, elite-level 3-point shooters.
I don’t love this for the Spurs. Fox is not a max level point guard on any team, and in San Antonio he has overlapping skills with Castle and Harper. https://t.co/axfeITihhl
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) August 4, 2025
deaaron fox is unbelievably pedestrian in the grand scheme of the nba and paying him nearly $60m/year to be that is a horrible decision
— des1re (@desm0ndbane) August 4, 2025
For as good as Fox is, he's not a top 10 or even top 20 player in the league. Trading players making over $50 million per season that aren't in that category is incredibly difficult in today's CBA, meaning the Spurs will be stuck with Fox even if he becomes surplus to requirements as Castle and Harper develop.
In an ideal world for the Spurs, they would have negotiated a lower number with Fox that gives them a little more flexibility in the event that the three guards don't work. Yet as many have speculated on social media, there may have been a max extension handshake in place at the point of the trade before Castle won Rookie of the Year and Harper was drafted.
It may seem dramatic to say now, but this new contract could be what holds the Spurs back from climbing all the way to join the Thunder in the top tier of the conference. Perhaps that gives the Warriors enough air space to at least try and compete towards another deep playoff run, though they have many moves to make themselves before next season even begins.