The Sacramento Kings have recently made significant changes to their coaching team, which may lead to shifts in their player roster soon.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Kings are open to exploring trade options for their All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox as the NBA trade deadline on February 6 approaches. “There will be many interested teams, but it seems Fox may have a specific team he is aiming for ahead of the 2026 free agency,” Charania added.

Currently, Fox is putting up impressive stats with an average of 25.2 points, a shooting percentage of 46.8% from the field, and 32.4% from beyond the arc, along with a career-best five rebounds and 6.2 assists. He is in the fourth year of a five-year, $163 million deal and is expected to enter free agency after the 2025-26 season.

James Ham, referencing several sources, suggests that Fox may already have a favored team in mind:

Drafted from Kentucky as the fifth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Fox celebrated his first All-Star selection in the 2022-23 season, which also marked the Kings’ return to the playoffs after a 16-year absence. He was also honored as the inaugural NBA Clutch Player of the Year, while Mike Brown received the NBA Coach of the Year award. However, the Kings have struggled to replicate their previous success and completely missed the playoffs in the 2023-24 season.

In December, the Kings unexpectedly released Mike Brown from his position as head coach after a rocky start to the season with a record of 13-18. Former Kings player and assistant coach Doug Christie stepped in as the interim coach, leading the team to an impressive 11-4 record since his appointment. As of Tuesday, the Kings currently sit in 10th place in the Western Conference.

While there were speculations that tensions between Brown and Fox contributed to the coach’s firing, Fox clarified that he was not involved in the decision.

“There seems to be a misconception that we were at odds,” Fox explained to ESPN in December. “Anyone in this organization can tell you: Mike and I never had any serious disagreements. We might have differing opinions, but we addressed them and moved on.”

Fox reinforced this on social media, stating, “There was never any pushback on anything. This idea that we had conflicts or that I went to management about issues is complete nonsense. Feel free to spread that narrative if you want,” he emphasized on social media in December.