The smartest man in the United States

De'Aaron Fox found himself on a sinking ship and grabbed a jet pack.

Good morning. Yep, we lost another good Californian to Texas. Let's basketball.

As the San Antonio Spurs continue to rampage on their way to a potential title run, it's worth recognizing where the team was just 14 months ago. The team was bad. Victor Wembanyama was clearly worth every bit of hype, and Stephon Castle was off to a strong start. But there wasn't evidence that the Spurs were on the verge of a historic rise and dominance of a Western Conference that included Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards. At the end of January 2025, the Spurs were three games under .500 and in 12th place in the West.

De'Aaron Fox, watching the Beam Team crumble and getting the thinly disguised front office blame for the abrupt end of Mike Brown's tenure as coach of the Sacramento Kings, called his shot. Nearing extension eligibility, he asked to be traded to the Spurs, a team below the Kings in the standings but with a much different outlook.

This wasn't just the smart near-term move it appeared to be, jumping off of a sinking ship before the hull splintered and everyone started panicking, though it was that. What has intrigued me since the trade is Fox identifying specifically the Spurs as a target. Fox is from Texas but not San Antonio: he's from Houston. (Caty, more specifically.) Houston, for what it's worth, was much higher than the Kings and Spurs in the standings when Fox decided to ask for a trade. But he wanted the Spurs. And it's obvious why: he saw Victor Wembanyama and knew those were some long coattails that could take him places he'd never been. Like, for starters: the second round of the playoffs.