Kings lost Fox when they fired Brown: 'I'm not going to play for another coach'
The Sacramento Kings' decision to fire head coach Mike Brown in December seemed to be the last straw for De'Aaron Fox.
"I was like, 'Yo, I've been here for going on my eighth year. If Mike gets fired, I'll be going on my fifth coach,'" Fox told ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "And I told them, 'I'm not going to play for another coach. I'm going to play for another team.'"
Fox warned the Kings' brass last summer that he was tired of the revolving door of head coaches.
Brown was the most successful coach Fox played under since the Kings selected him fifth overall in 2017, posting a 107-88 mark across parts of three seasons. He guided Sacramento to back-to-back winning campaigns and won NBA Coach of the Year honors in 2022-23 after helping the franchise snap its league-record 16-year playoff drought.
Brown was rewarded with a three-year contract extension in June after Fox campaigned for a new deal. However, Brown was dismissed after a 13-18 start this season.
Fox was subsequently dealt to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal just a few days before the trade deadline. While the All-Star guard declined an extension during the offseason, he said no trade request was made to the front office.
"I truly wanted to play for one team my whole career," Fox said. "I really did."
Fox will face his former team Friday night in Sacramento for the first time since being shipped to San Antonio.
The Kentucky product is averaging 19.3 points, 6.6 assists, 4.2 boards, and 1.8 steals through his 13 appearances with the Spurs.