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De'Aaron Fox of the San Antonio Spurs during an NBA game.

The San Antonio Spurs are in the middle of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, De’Aaron Fox‘s future with the Spurs was suddenly in question despite signing a four-year extension last offseason.

According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, there is chatter around the league regarding Fox’s tenure in San Antonio being over sooner rather than later. It’s not because of his fit, but due to the emergence of Dylan Harper, who appears to be ahead of schedule in his rise to stardom.

“There’s already league-wide chatter about how his time here might be cut short,” Amick wrote. “The assertion, shared by rival executives and media folks alike, is that rookie guard Dylan Harper (the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft) is simply too good to come off the bench for long and will eventually need to start alongside second-year guard Stephon Castle (the No. 4 pick in 2024).”

Fox was acquired last year from the Sacramento Kings in a three-team trade with the Chicago Bulls. He averaged 19.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 17 games with the Spurs in the second half of last season.

It was enough for the franchise to sign him to a four-year, $229 million contract extension last summer. The deal has no player option and could keep him in San Antonio until the 2029-30 season.

De’Aaron Fox in Manu Ginobili Role?

Despite the speculation about De’Aaron Fox’s future, Sam Amick argued that the Spurs are the same organization that brought Manu Ginobili off the bench. Ginobili had no problems becoming the sixth man starting in 2007, which led to two more championships.

“For starters, this is the same organization that won four titles with Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili coming off the bench and, thus, should be trusted to navigate these sorts of tricky dynamics when that time comes,” Amick wrote. “Secondly, and perhaps even more important, is that neither the Spurs officials who make these sorts of decisions nor Fox’s camp are framing the conversation in this sort of way. Not yet, anyway.”

Despite the potential problems arising from having too many great guards, it’s a great problem to have right now for the Spurs. They could start worrying once Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper become eligible for their rookie-scale extensions.

Castle is just in his second season, while Harper is set to finish his rookie campaign. Victor Wembanyama is also eligible to sign an extension this summer, so financially planning for the future is definitely on the table for the Spurs.

De’Aaron Fox Playing Through Injury

It has been a rough postseason for De’Aaron Fox in terms of injuries. He sprained his right ankle in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played through the injury before re-aggravating it in Game 6.

Fox ended up missing the first two games of the Western Conference Finals before returning in Game 3. He re-injured his right ankle after Lu Dort accidentally landed on his right foot during a loose ball.

Nevertheless, Fox was cleared to return for Game 4 on Sunday even though he’s not at 100 percent.