Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox went back at former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas on social media for his criticism of Sacramento and other cities that new Kings star DeMar DeRozan has played in.
Chicago is the 3rd most populated city in the country and San Antonio is top 10 btw 😂😂 https://t.co/zz6HrDQWQl
— De'Aaron Fox (@swipathefox) July 9, 2024
DeRozan joined the Kings on a three-year deal this offseason in a three-team sign-and-trade deal between the Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls. The Kings sent Harrison Barnes and a pick swap to the San Antonio Spurs and Chris Duarte and multiple second-round picks to the Bulls to complete the transaction.
Arenas called out multiple places where DeRozan has played, but it started with him hating on the Kings.
I don’t think Jennings and Gil like Sacramento
DeRozan X Sacramento Kings#SacramentoProud pic.twitter.com/RLDb0ZivN7
— iamtheREALvegasMURPH (@RealMurphdog916) July 8, 2024
“Man, f— the Kings, man,” Arenas said.
Then, Arenas went on to claim that Chicago, San Antonio and Sacramento aren’t big cities, which was disputed by Fox in his post on social media.
“I need to call DeMar man,” Arenas continued. “Don’t you like big cities, bro? You keep going to these weak a— cities, man. San Antonio, man, Chicago cold. You going down to Hicksville (Sacramento). … They rank No. 1 in people just being ugly over there. That’s not a city you want to be in.”
Brandon Jennings chimed in by calling Sacramento “trash.”
It seems like Arenas may have something against some of these places, but he also is wrong to fault DeRozan for his time in San Antonio. Unlike when DeRozan signed with the Bulls – or when he just signed with the Kings (both were sign-and-trade deals) – he was traded while under contract to the Spurs in the deal that brought Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors.
Regardless, it’s hard to fault DeRozan for choosing the Kings since one of the teams (the Los Angeles Lakers) in a bigger city that he could have gone to didn’t even offer him a deal, according to NBA insider Shams Charania.
“It was really down to the Kings and Heat as far as DeMar DeRozan’s new home … I’m told the Lakers never went beyond expressing simple interest in DeRozan.”
NBA Insider @ShamsCharania gives us the latest on DeMar DeRozan. pic.twitter.com/F7OUBNMx0Y
— The Rally (@TheRally) July 8, 2024
It’s nice to see Fox already showing support for his new teammate, and there’s a chance the Kings take a step forward with him, DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis on the roster in the 2024-25 season.
Last season, DeRozan played well for the Bulls, as he averaged 24.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. It was the 11th straight season where he averaged over 20 points per game.
Fox, DeRozan and the Kings will look to show Arenas that Sacramento can be a good city to play in by making the playoffs in the 2024-25 season.
