Peja Stojakovic says Rich Paul blackmailed the Kings so De'Aaron Fox could end up with the Spurs: "He limited Sacramento from a business standpoint"

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Peja Stojakovic says Rich Paul blackmailed the Kings so De'Aaron Fox could end up with the Spurs: "He limited Sacramento from a business standpoint" originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Former Sacramento Kings assistant general manager Peja Stojakovic believes that the Kings could have gotten a better package for point guard De'Aaron Fox if they were able to shop him around the league.
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Stojakovic claims the Kings were unable to get the best deal for De'Aaron because Fox's manager, Klutch Sports founder Rich Paul, coerced the team to surrender Fox to the San Antonio Spurs while also making sure that his other client, Zach LaVine, would end up taking Fox's spot in Sacramento.
"I still believe Sacramento has good players despite them trading Fox," Peja said confidently.
"It seems there was a directive from his agent, Rich Paul, who played a key role and blackmailed the teams on which player was supposed to get traded where. He brought Fox to the Spurs and Zach LaVine, who is his player, brought him to Sacramento. By doing this, he limited Sacramento from a business standpoint, stating that they get a bit more from this trade with Fox if they had the same discussion with some other teams in the NBA," Stojakovic detailed behind-the-scenes events around this trade.
Kings landed LaVine in a three-team trade
Fox was looking like the Kings' next franchise player. But last year, he turned down a three-year $165 million contract extension from the Kings because he wanted to make sure the Kings had enough to contend for a title before committing to them. However, the motive was likely financial as Fox stood to get a five-year, $345 million super-max deal if he made an All-NBA team this season.
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But rather than risk losing Fox without getting anything, the Kings ended up shopping Fox before the trade deadline. Several teams were linked to the former Kentucky Wildcat, but in the end, he went to the Spurs in a move that many, including Stojakovic, believe was orchestrated by Paul.
In the three-team trade, the Kings got LaVine from the Chicago Bulls, plus three first-round picks and three second-round picks. Meanwhile, the Bulls received Zach Collins, Tre Jones and Kevin Huerter while regaining their 2025 first-round pick via the Spurs. San Antonio ended up with the jackpot prize of the deal: Fox.
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Fox admitted that it was he who wanted to play for the Spurs
Stojakovic's accusation may have some truth in it. Last March, Fox admitted that he told the Kings that he only wanted to play for the Spurs. And so if this was the case, then it's possible that Paul worked his connections to make that happen, and they ended up strong-arming the Kings into sending Fox to San Antonio.
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"There was no fuc*ing list," Fox emphatically said.
"There was one team. I wanted to go to San Antonio. So, a lot of people are mad at me, saying I handcuffed the team by giving them a destination. Well, this is my career. If anybody else is in my position, you'd do the same thing. It's not my job to help build your team. I'm not about to just go where they want me to go. I wanted to have a destination," he concluded.
But as Peja said, the Kings still have good players left, regardless of whether they were short-changed in the deal. They also received a haul of draft picks, which they can use in whichever direction they choose.
Related: 'Has he transformed Sacramento into an NBA champion?' - Chris Russo doesn't believe De'Aaron Fox will elevate Spurs into contenders
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.