De'Aaron Fox turned down a Kings extension because he wants to see the organization compete for a championship first, though he loves Sacramento and hopes to spend his whole career there. Draymond Green praises owner Vivek Ranadivé and GM Mike Bratz for aligning the front office, while Fox highlights Domantas Sabonis as underrated and D'Angelo Russell as a selfless playmaker.
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You recently, right before the season, had an opportunity to sign an extension. What was the motivation for you to pass on the extension, essentially continuing to bet on yourself, but, you know, to pass on that amount of money and just play the season out?
For me, man, it has all to do with just the team, the organization, where are we going? I wanna make sure that we're in a position to try to win in the future. 'Cause that's ultimately what I wanna do. Like I know I make enough money regardless of where I play or what I do. Like I'm gonna be fine unless, you know, God forbid, you know, knock on wood, you know, that, you know, you have a career-ending injury. But aside from that, like I feel like I'm continuing to get better as a player every year.
Mm-hmm.
But for me, it's, are we looking like we're continuing to get better year after year? And are we gonna be able to compete at a high level? And that was, that, that's all mine is like, if we can show that this year, like, you know, you sign the extension now. If not, like, I still, obviously I still have another year, but that's, that's where my mindset is. At, at some point, will we be able to compete for a championship or, or really compete at a high level for a long time? And, That's where I'm at.
You at that stage.
And like, I love the city. Like, I love being here. I've raised my family here. We got our grandparents there, or the kids' grandparents here. Like, I would love to be here and retire here. Play, I mean, how many people can say they played in one organization for their whole career? Like, I wanna be a part of that select few people. But at the end of the day, I also wanna win.
So you gotta win, especially where you at.
That's where you wanna get your real money. You wanna elite, you know what I mean?
You want that window, you want that chance, man. And you know, I think you gotta put yourself in the best situation at all times, especially when you're in the prime of your career.
Yeah, I'm coming up on those years, so.
Yeah.
They know I'm gonna give all I got, but. At the end of the day, brother, organization also gotta give all they got. So like, that's where we are right now.
I respect you holding them to that, you know, holding them to their end of the bargain as well. 'Cause most guys in your position these days, they don't, you know, they just do whatever it is that, you know, and then a lot of them have agents that aren't willing to take that risk. You know, a lot of them have agents that's like, yo, you should sign this extension because the money. I know from experience you have an agent that's like, no, this gotta make sense for you. Like, and if this don't make sense for you, it is my duty and obligation to advise you to do what makes sense for you. Because we in a position, we getting the money, you know what I'm saying? And, but there's a certain standard that should be upheld from organizations when you talking star players. And I think the Kings is a great organization there. You know, it takes time to turn an organization, but Vec took over the team he came from here. Vivek, I think, is one of the better owners in this league. And I think, you know, they, I know they wanna be great, but in wanting to be great, you have to learn how to do it, you know?
And so—
Yeah, it takes time to learn how to do that.
Absolutely. It's just, it's, you know, it's not that, I know where they have struggled, it's never for a lack of wanting to be great. They wanna be great, but wanting to be great is making the right hires at all levels.
Yeah, you gotta have them minds. Yeah, you gotta have them minds on all levels.
And that's one thing Mike actually did when he got here. He's like, yo, from ownership down to the ball boys, equipment guys, we gotta be aligned. And that's what he brought. Like, first meeting, got somebody from every single department. Like, so he's bringing that. Obviously he knows what it takes.
For sure. No, 100%. You have to do that. And I think, you know, with, with like that. I thought from the gate Mike B was a great hire, but everything around that has to make sense in order for that hire to reach its ultimate potential. So what's it been like playing with D-Bo? Uh, you obviously have played against him. Uh, he's been in the West, you know, then he went to the East for a couple years. But what's it been like having him as a teammate? Um, what's, you know, and what's something about his game that You know, maybe you didn't know from playing or from afar that you've been able to see, uh, with just having him as a teammate.
Man, one, just his presence, bro. Like, just being around him on and off the court, just, just a calm presence that he brings to a team, into a locker room. Um, it's like, it's like a feeling that you just have never had. And then having him out there on the court, like, y'all can go through dry spells and you can just give him the ball and he just go get one. He go create, yeah. Like, and, but like you said, create, like he creates so many opportunities for everybody else as well because people are like, well, yeah, we don't want to give up the midi, but then you start sending doubles at him and he's such a willing passer. He's so willing to get off the ball. He makes it easy for everybody else. And then one thing, dog, when I say it seemed, it looked like he walked to his spots, like at times he literally will walk to a spot and just shoot over you. Like, you're not even standing there. So at times, and he just scored, I think he just scored his 24,000th point.
That's crazy.
It's amazing to watch. Like, he'll run off 5 possessions in a row, just give it to him. And people, he just get to a spot, rise up, you gotta foul him. He'll get to the free throw line shooting 12, 14 free throws, and he just makes the game look that much easier. And it's— it's crazy to see because obviously, like, as you're getting older, you know, you don't have the athleticism that you had, but he still go out there and he'll make a super athletic play, but then he come back and it's just real calm, real steady, and he's able to do it over and over again. And just that consistency that he's done it with and how long he's been playing, man, is, is amazing. You see why he's been in the league for— I think this is 16th year.
Damn, dude, that's crazy.
Adibo, he wanted him one.
He's one of them.
Bro, I remember seeing him like dunking, like when he was first dunking, the year he was first dunking and everybody was talking about he was dunking in 8th grade. You know what I mean? So like 16.
Just the skill, bro, the skill that you gotta have to like 24,000 points.
To be able to do that.
As athletic as he was at a certain time and you're 16, not as athletic and you still doing that type of stuff. Like it's amazing to see.
Footwork impeccable, man.
Another great player you play with, with great footwork, Sabonis is basically a double-double every night. I think he's highly underrated. I'm sure you do. Tell us about, you know, what it means to play with somebody like Sabonis.
I think, I think he's, like you said, I think he's very underrated, very underappreciated, underappreciated. But I think, so like the way he's playing this year and the way he's shooting the ball, we're like, bro, you don't even, like, we're not asking you to come off down screens or,, you know, shoot off the dribble or anything like that. But, uh, we just need people to respect it because, and I told him this, like, whenever I started shooting the ball better and people had to take one step, had to take one step up on you, that opens the court up for yourself and everybody else. And, uh, we tell them, bro, don't hesitate.
That's a fact.
If, if you got it, shoot it, let it fly. Cause he's shooting, I think he's, he's like 50-40 and like 85 right now. So like if we can do that and continue to get him, but it's all coming from very quality looks, continue to do that. Like I think the sky's the limit for him and the sky's the limit for us. 'Cause then you pull the big out a little bit long, a little bit more. Now that creates driving lanes. We're able to put teams in rotations and it just makes our offense that much better. But he knows as well as we know where we have to be better at if we want to get to where we can, to where we want to get to. And Dray know it.
Yeah.
We gotta be better defensively. Offense ain't never been our problem.
1000%.
Offense has never been our problem. And you talked about, I think you were talking about Indiana last year. You're like, yeah, y'all the number one offense, but you can't guard a soul. Get in the playoffs, like, what's this gonna look like? So that's my thought process about it. And we know where we gotta be. What's funny though, what's funny though. So we just played San Antonio, right? And we come outta halftime and I'm picking CP up And CP, you know, CP an asshole. So don't care. He like, he don't care to compliment, nothing like that. But he walks up to me and he like, yo, you like the only point guard that actually plays defense. Like that actually come and guards me, come pick me up. And like at the time I'm like, yo, whatever. Like he said it, but then, you know, after the game and then he just became the second leading assist ever.
Yeah.
I'm like knowing CP, He don't just walk up to nobody and just give them a compliment like that. So I'm like, he really felt that. He really felt that. And for me, like, I want to be that type of guy. I want to be able to go out there, guard people, be the guy that people don't want to put you in the action because you blow actions up. And then at the end of the day, still on offense, being able to get to work. So like, I really did appreciate that. Draymond Green.
