The De'Aaron Fox trade rumors have taken the NBA world by storm over the past 48 hours and counting, and apparently, they're beginning to weigh heavily on the Kings' locker room.
Sacramento recently informed Fox it would be open to discussing potentially trading him before next Thursday's deadline, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday morning. Fox opted not to sign a contract extension with the Kings entering the 2024-25 NBA season to wait and see if and how the Kings compete at a high level.
But amid an already turbulent season, which included a 13-18 start, a coaching change and now the uncertain future surrounding the face of its franchise, The Athletic's Sam Amick reported the heightened Fox situation is adding salt to the wound in Sacramento.
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"The mood of the team could certainly play a part here," Amick wrote, "as league sources close to several Kings players expressed frustration that this situation has become such an ill-timed distraction."
As much as players try to be professional and block out the noise, they're only human.
The Kings' first game since the news came to light didn't make matters any better, either. A bad 117-104 loss to the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers put them at 1-3 on their current six-game road trip with the Western Conference's first-place Oklahoma City Thunder and the heating-up Minnesota Timberwolves still ahead.
Kings interim head coach Doug Christie addressed the trade rumors for the first time before Wednesday's game in Philly, explaining how he's managing the business side of the game in the locker room.
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"It's the business of basketball, and then there's basketball," Christie told reporters ahead of Sacramento's matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers. "And basketball -- this space out here -- is our sanctuary. This is where we come to relax. This is where we love each other. This is where we hold arms. I've been traded in this league; I've been traded on this team, so it's part of what we do. We know that when we sign up.
"But this is our sanctuary, and that's how we'll treat it when we step out on the court."
The Kings fell to 24-23 on the season (11-5 under Christie), are 10th in the West and 3.5 games behind the No. 6 playoff seed.
Of course, there's still plenty of basketball to be played. And if there's one thing the Kings have proven, it's that they can turn things around when adversity hits.