Deandre Ayton

The Indiana Pacers are submitting an offer sheet to big man Deanre Ayton in an attempt to acquire the talented center in free agency.

Kevin Pritchard, the Pacers President of Basketball Operations, detailed earlier in the offseason that Indiana is looking to become a younger, more athletic, and more dynamic team. This agreement between Ayton and the Pacers is a change in stance for the organization, and it could push the team’s rebuild forward rapidly if they land the 23-year old. The Pacers freed up an additional $1.6 million in cap room by cutting the young ball-handler, and when combined with the space freed up by stretching other contracts, this allowed Indiana to offer Ayton the $133 million contract. The agreement, as Wojnarowski points out, is an offer sheet to Ayton as he is a restricted free agent. By all accounts and as of this writing, Ayton has yet to physically sign the deal, which is noteworthy. The Pacers, at the time the agreement was reported, did not have enough salary cap space to offer Ayton a deal that starts at over $30 million.

The Suns matched the Pacers' 4-year, $133 million offer sheet for restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton, clearing the way for him to return to the ...

The Suns had never made Ayton a max offer, suggesting they didn't value him as a max player. When asked after the game why that happened, Suns coach Monty Williams said, "It's internal." If the Suns didn't match, they would've lost Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, for nothing. To do that, Indiana waived guard Duane Washington and waived and stretched the three players who arrived in the Boston trade for Brogdon: Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan and Nik Stauskas, sources told ESPN. This takes Ayton out of any possible offseason trade scenario involving Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant. The Phoenix Suns matched the Indiana Pacers' four-year, $133 million offer sheet for restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton, clearing the way for him to return to the franchise, his agents, Bill Duffy and Nima Namakian, told ESPN on Thursday night.

Deandre Ayton's situation is resolved. He will remain with the Suns after they chose to match the Pacers offer sheet.

The Suns are still a pretty good team despite fizzling out in the second round. They could bring back the group's core for one more run in 2022-23. There were also rumors that Ayton and Suns coach Monty Williams did not get along. He went out and was a solider the whole year, played well, improved his statistics," Duffy said. He’s a restricted free agent, so we'll see how this process unfolds.” "He’s a valuable player.

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“The Knicks, though, didn’t want to give up that many of their future picks and young pieces. They also asked for pick swaps down the road,” he said. But the two sides could not reach an agreement on the full max contract, which Ayton desired. But a rupture surfaced between the two sides in this year’s playoffs. However, the Suns decision to match the offer could have huge ramifications for their chances of securing a trade for Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets as Phoenix now cannot trade Ayton until at least January 15 next year. The Phoenix Suns have suffered a huge blow to their chances of acquiring Kevin Durant after matching the Indiana Pacers record offer sheet for restricted free-agent Deandre Ayton in a move that has completely changed the NBA trade and free agency landscape.

As the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, the 23-year-old Ayton was this summer's highest-profile restricted free agent.

To sign Ayton, Indiana will probably need to execute a salary cap-clearing trade. Without Ayton, it’s unclear whether the Suns will be able to construct a package of players and picks that is suitable to the Nets while still remaining among the league’s top title contenders. Earlier this month, the Suns lost veteran center JaVale McGee, who signed a three-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks.

After officially trading Malcolm Brogdon to Boston, Indiana extended a four-year $133 million max offer sheet to Ayton.

The 26-year-old is entering a contract year and has yet to sign an extension, so Indiana may consider trading him to avoid the crowded frontcourt it experienced when Turner and Sabonis shared the court for three-plus seasons. However, the clock on Ayton's offer sheet doesn't start until midnight, so Phoenix and Indiana could still work out a sign-and-trade before then for Ayton. If they don't, the Suns have two days to match the largest offer sheet in league history or let Ayton go for nothing. Ayton would be paired with another former Arizona star, Bennedict Mathurin. The Pacers drafted Mathurin sixth overall last month, marking their highest draft pick since 1988 and first single-digit pick since 1989. Indiana has already retained Ayton's former Suns teammate Jalen Smith in free agency. Smith was drafted 10th overall by Phoenix in 2020 but averaged just 4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 56 games compared to 13.4 points and 7.6 rebounds in 22 games for Indiana. Mathurin was the 2022 Pac-12 Player of the Year and the first Arizona player to win the award since Ayton in 2018.

Suns restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton is signing a four-year, $133 million maximum contract offer sheet with the Pacers, his agents, ...

Namakian of Innovate Sports and Duffy of BDA Sports and WME had insisted to the Suns that they could find a maximum contract offer for Ayton in the marketplace, and they are now delivering it with the offer sheet. When asked after the game why that happened, Suns coach Monty Williams said, "It's internal." To do that, Indiana is waiving guard Duane Washington and waiving and stretching the three players who arrived in the Boston trade for Brogdon: Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan and Nik Stauskas, sources told ESPN. Ayton will also have veto power on any trade for a year. If they don't match the sheet, the Suns will lose the 2018 No. 1 pick without compensation. So far, the Suns haven't shown an interest in negotiating a sign-and-trade with the Pacers, but the expectation remains that Phoenix will match the record $133 million offer sheet once it's signed by Ayton, sources told ESPN.

Hours after Indiana and Ayton agreed to a four-year, $133 million max offer sheet -- the largest in league history -- Phoenix matched it to retain the 2018 No.

But it’s clear to me that, just numbers-wise, I’m not valued as more than a rotational role player, and I hold myself in a higher regard than that.” “It’s clear that I’m not valued as anything more than a glorified role player here, and I want something more, more opportunity,” Turner told The Athletic in December. “I’m trying really hard to make the role that I’m given here work and find a way to maximize it. "We have to be an organization that has those big dreams," Carlisle said during the rookies' introductory news conference last month. By going this route, Indiana could take on bad expiring contracts in trades while stockpiling young players and draft picks. Pretend they didn't try to find his replacement and hope to smooth things over? The Suns had two days to match the Pacers' offer, but they didn't need much time to decide to keep Ayton alongside future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul and All-NBA First Teamer Devin Booker. Phoenix won a league-high 64 games last season with that trio and reached the NBA Finals in 2021.

Ayton cannot be traded until Jan. 15, 2023 at the earliest and cannot be traded to the Pacers at all this upcoming season. He can also veto any trade for a year ...

In that case taking an underslot deal at No. 1 will be more financially lucrative than a slot deal at No. 6 or later, plus Johnson would get to say he is the No. 1 pick in the country. However, I'm confused with the direction of the team. If he's not the No. 1 pick, there's a chance Johnson falls to the No. 6 pick or even later. The most intriguing name in the draft, though, may be Kumar Rocker. The former Vanderbilt ace went 10th overall to the Mets last year, but New York never offered him a contract after reviewing his medical information. The USWNT will face Canada in the final Monday night. Two months ago, the Suns -- fresh off the best regular-season record in the NBA -- shockingly collapsed in the second round against the Mavericks, with Ayton spending much of the second half of Game 7 on the bench. Their prize for likely missing out on Durant? A hefty luxury tax bill, as the Suns are now roughly $15 million above the tax line." According to reports, Ayton "did not feel valued" by the franchise after the contract negotiations. In addition to getting a big contract, Ayton could conceivably hit free agency again at 27, still right in his prime. As of Friday morning, Dustin Johnson is atop the leaderboard. Deandre Ayton is getting paid the really big bucks. After a tough opening-round 78, Tiger Woods' struggles have continued and it looks like he is in serious dangerous of missing the cut.

Restricted free agent Deandre Ayton, the NBA's No. 1 overall draft pick in 2018, has signed a four-year, $133 million maximum offer sheet with the Indiana ...

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