This season, the competition in the Western ranking is very large, and the Rockets, who have a win rate of more than 50%, have not even been able to touch the threshold of the play-offs, and they all say that the West is wild, but how wild is it, let's put it this way, the Bucks, who are third in the East, have to play the play-offs when they come.
The Kings and Warriors both have a 46-36 record, and the two teams finished 9th and 10th in the West and missed the playoffs. The Warriors have had their ups and downs this season, and as they age, they desperately need a change, or they simply won't be able to compete in the West with the rise of the Grizzlies and Rockets in the late stages.
Compared with the Warriors, the Kings are a little helpless, after Brown took over, at the beginning of the season, they were once ranked in the top 4, and they were not inferior in the face of strong teams, and when they played against the Lakers, they completed 4 kills and won by 43 points, which made the outside world think that the Kings would have a place in the West, but they did not expect the Kings to have ups and downs in the later period, and finally ranked 9th and had to play the play-offs.
They beat the Warriors in the playoffs and were just one step away from making the playoffs, but facing the Pelicans without Zion, the Kings pulled their hips again, and they lost the game 98-105 and missed the playoffs.
The Kings' journey this season is over, but their operation is still not stopped, and the core of the team, Fox, will face the problem of contract extension, and the contract is so large that the Kings are in a dilemma.
Fox currently has two years left on his five-year, $163 million contract, $34.8 million and $37.1 million, respectively, and he is eligible for a contract extension this summer, with two options.
The first is to sign a four-year, $267.5 million contract extension with the Kings with an annual salary of more than $66 million.
The second category, which does not renew his contract this season until 2025, allows him to agree to a five-year, $346 million deal with the Kings with an annual salary of nearly $70 million.
Of course, to qualify for both contracts, Fox would have to be named to the All-Star team that season, which is a hard condition.
He played in 74 games for the Kings this season, averaging 26.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2 steals in 35.9 minutes per game while shooting 46.5%/36.9%/73.8% from three. The average points per game, rebounds, and steals are all career highs, and the three-point shooting percentage is the second highest in his career.
In addition, he is also the steals leader this season, in fact, Alexander and Fox have the same total steals as 150, but Alexander has suffered by playing one more game than the latter.
Fox's ability is true, but he hasn't led the team to the playoffs this season, so is the Kings willing to give him a super big contract?
As early as last year, the King offered him a 2-year $105 million contract extension, but was rejected by Fox at the time, nothing else, he wanted to take more, after all, his agent was Rich Paul, and maximizing the benefits of the contract was his forte.
Whether he can get a big contract depends on whether Fox can be selected to the best team.