Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox explained Friday why he is taking it slow when it comes to signing a contract extension.

According to Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Fox suggested that he wants to make sure the Kings are built to win moving forward before making a commitment:

"For one, I'm in no rush. For two, I just want to make sure where we're at, because people have seen the league—like, turnover of a team can happen in the matter of a month or two or six months. I mean, if we were contending for a championship, [it might be different]. Like, obviously, [the Boston Celtics'] Jayson [Tatum] just won a championship or [the Miami Heat's] Bam [Adebayo], who has been to the Finals twice. I'm just using people who are in my class [who have signed extensions]. They've already kind of been through that, done that. So yeah, they have that security of [having done] that. For me, obviously, we're continuing to build."

Fox went on to explain that while remaining with the Kings for his entire career and being a perennial contender is his ideal scenario, he doesn't want to act too hastily:

"I would love to be here for my entire career, to be on one team, to be in one city, for my entire career. It's not unheard of, but it doesn't happen a lot, so to be in that category would definitely be great. That's something that's amazing. You're able to obviously build your life, your family, your entire career, in one place. That's everybody's dream. No one wants to just be bouncing around teams.

"But I want to make sure that we're in that position to be competing and competing at a high level for a long time, not just fighting for a playoff spot. Obviously, the way that the West is going, we have to continue to get better as players and as a team, as an organization. And, I mean, I'm not saying I'm not staying or that I am staying. But I would love to be here, and I want to make sure that we're competing at a high level."

Fox is currently eligible for a three-year, $165 million maximum extension, but his agent, Rich Paul, is looking to land him an even bigger contract during the 2025 offseason, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

The one-time All-Star can become a free agent in 2026, and according to Amick and Slater, testing free agency is "in play" for Fox, especially if he doesn't earn an All-NBA selection, which would be required for him in order to receive a five-year, $345 million supermax deal.

Selected fifth overall in the 2017 NBA draft out of Kentucky, Fox is set to enter his eighth NBA season, all of which have been spent in Sacramento.

In 469 career regular-season games, Fox boasts averages of 21.2 points, 6.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 three-pointers made and 1.4 steals, while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 33.4 percent from beyond the arc.

The speedy guard reached the next level during the 2022-23 season, as he played in 73 games after playing in fewer than 60 games in each of the previous three campaigns.

Fox also averaged 25.0 points, 6.1 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 three-pointers made and 1.1 steals per game en route to his first All-Star and All-NBA Third Team selections. He also won the Clutch Player of the Year Award and was 11th in NBA MVP voting.

Although he was not named an All-Star or a member of an All-NBA team last season, he was arguably even better than he was in 2022-23, setting new career highs with 26.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.9 three-pointers made and a league-leading 2.0 steals per game in 74 contests.

The Kings took a step back as a team, though, going 46-36 and missing the playoffs after reaching the postseason with a 48-34 mark the previous year.

Sacramento got aggressive during the offseason, though, adding six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan to a core that already includes Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk, among others.

That roster should be good enough to compete for a playoff spot and to potentially even do damage in the postseason, but it won't be easy in a stacked Western Conference that includes the likes of the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Given the situation, there will perhaps be pressure on the Kings to have a strong season in 2024-25, as another year outside the playoffs could conceivably prompt Fox to consider other options.