Fox played a key role in bringing his childhood friend and former Kentucky teammate to Sacramento when Monk signed a free-agent deal with the Kings in the summer of 2022. Now, Fox is gone and Monk is taking over as the team’s starting point guard.

The Sacramento Kings made a significant trade on Sunday, sending De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs and returning Zach LaVine from the Chicago Bulls.

Kings interim coach Doug Christie knows what it feels like to be traded midseason. That's because it happened to him, in Sacramento, where he spent the majority of his playing career. So he understands all too well what De’Aaron Fox experienced Monday when the team officially shipped its star point guard off to San Antonio as part of a three-team trade.