De'Aaron Fox trade would fully renew Texas rivalry Mavericks knew was coming

The Dallas Mavericks are in the middle of one of their weirdest stretches of the season, as the team has battled constant injuries over the last few months and is struggling to stay afloat in the Western Conference. Dallas has shown that they are one of the best teams in the NBA when fully healthy, but we have not seen this team at full strength in a long while.

Ever since Luka Doncic went down with a calf strain on Christmas Day, the Mavericks have gone 6-11, including a period in which they lost 10 of 13 games. Dallas has been better recently though, as they have won two of their last three games, including a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, but their level of consistency right now won't be enough to cement themselves as true contenders in the West if they don't pick up the pace soon.

They have to find a way to win multiple games in a row, even with Doncic out of the lineup, because if they don't, they could be in danger of being a play-in team. Dallas is currently 25-22 on the year and the No. 9 seed in the West, but teams like the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, and San Antonio Spurs are all on their tail.

Spurs trading for Fox would reignite age-old rivalry with Mavericks

All three of the aforementioned teams are three or fewer games behind Dallas in the standings, and if recent rumors remain true, the Spurs could be a team that the Mavericks will have to fight off in the standings every year for years to come, considering the bright future that is written all over the walls of the Frost Bank Center.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Kings are "expected to open up talks to potentially deal All-Star De'Aaron Fox ahead of Feb. 6 trade deadline," while adding that Fox "has a target destination in mind ahead of 2026 free agency." Charania didn't list where Fox is eyeing as a potential destination before he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2026, but the Spurs are definitely a team to keep an eye on when it comes to Fox moving forward as they are speculated to be the team that he would like to be traded to.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, "San Antonio is widely presumed to be a destination that would interest Fox — if that be controlled in trade discussions — to allow him to pair with Spurs franchise center Victor Wembanyama." This would be an unbelievable combination, and a Wembanyama-Fox duo would thrust the Spurs into contention almost right away.

The Spurs have made huge improvements this season after going 22-60 last season, and they have almost matched their win total from last season with 39 games left in the season. If they were to pull off a deal for Fox, the Mavericks-Spurs rivalry would be ignited once again, and this is something that Mavericks fans have been expecting for years.

Ever since Dereck Lively II and Wembanyama's iconic battle on opening night last season, fans knew that this was a budding rivalry to keep an eye on. This rivalry went up another notch when San Antonio struck gold in the 2024 NBA Draft by selecting Stephon Castle, and the Spurs are only going to get better as time goes on, considering how dynamic their Wembanyama-led core looks to be.

Dallas and San Antonio used to be one of the best rivalries in the Western Conference, and the Spurs trading for Fox would bring back the age-old rivalry that fans of both teams have been dying for. The NBA could be lightly eyeing to push this rivalry again, as Dallas and San Antonio have matched up against each other on opening night in back-to-back years, and we could see the games between these two teams return to being cut-throat dogfights as soon as this week if the Kings decide to trade Fox quickly.

The Spurs trading for Fox would indicate that they are no longer content with rebuilding. They'd be ready to try to compete for a title right now, and the Mavericks would be one of the first teams in their crosshairs as they are hovering in play-in territory.