Lakers' Luka Doncic deal looks infinitely better after Spurs' De'Aaron Fox deal

The Los Angeles Lakers recently signed Luka Doncic to a massive three-year contract extension and it didn't take long whatsoever for a Western Conference rival to give more money to a guard who is undoubtedly worse.

Just days after the Doncic extension, the San Antonio Spurs signed De'Aaron Fox to a max four-year, $229 million contract. San Antonio traded for Fox at the deadline and the writing has been on the wall for an extension ever since.

While it makes all the sense in the world for the Spurs to keep Fox around after trading for him months ago, the price at which is came is still staggering. With his new extension, Fox is officially earning more than Doncic is with the Lakers.

Lakers' Luka Doncic extension looks even better after Spurs' De'Aaron Fox extension

There are confounding variables that factor into the difference in contract. The Lakers offered Doncic the absolute most the team could offer him while the Spurs did the same thing for Fox. That ceiling just so happened to be higher for Fox than it was for Doncic.

Still, the fact Fox is getting paid more per season (and signed a longer deal) puts the Doncic extension into perspective. Doncic is one of the very best players in the world while Fox is a top-30 player at best in the NBA.

This is a good reminder to Lakers fans that even in this tax apron league, it's not just max-caliber players who get max contracts. Teams are afraid to lose the asset, resulting in players like Fox getting the same kind of contract that true superstars like Doncic get.

This is going to upset Spurs fans, but Fox is in that Zach LaVine/Bradley Beal/Brandon Ingram class of players; the players who get max contracts despite not being true No. 1 guys. Players who put up good stats on bad ball clubs but have very little playoff success to their name.

That's not to say that Fox won't find success with the Spurs. Maybe he will break that trend and elevate himself out of that class of player. It's just a reminder to Lakers fans how special the Doncic trade was. If it never happened, Fox would be the caliber of player the Lakers would have had to sign to a max deal, not Doncic.

And with all due respect to Fox, the Lakers would never have been true title contenders if the team traded for him instead of Doncic. Los Angeles would have paid the same amount for an objectively worse player.