When the Kings traded away Iman Shumpert and Justin Jackson, De’Aaron Fox saw firsthand the NBA's business side. The point guard enjoyed playing with both teammates, and it made him think how special things have been for the Kings' rivals down Interstate 80.
“In any team, you want to stay together, but you know it’s a business, and things like that don’t happen all the time,” Fox told NBC Sports California Kings analyst Doug Christie on the Uninterrupted Road Trippin’ podcast. “Like what the Warriors did -- I think it’s special that those guys were able to be drafted together. …
“I think just being able to do that, it’s just a testament to how selfless everybody on the team is, how great they wanted to be. You can tell they only cared about winning, and I think that we have a group of guys that that’s what we care about -- winning basketball games.”
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Fox and the Kings have made progress on that front. Their 34 wins entering this week’s play represent the most for the franchise since the 2007-08 season, and they still have an outside shot at making the playoffs, although time is dwindling.
If the Kings can keep their young core of Fox, Marvin Bagley, Harry Giles and Buddy Hield together, maybe we eventually could be talking about championship runs in Sacramento, much like we have in the Bay.
Listen to Fox and Christie on Road Trippin' in the player below, and subscribe here.