Deandre Ayton

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.

Check out the latest NBA rumors and speculation involving Deandre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns. Where will he play in 2022?

The Suns get KD. The Pacers get Ayton for a first-round pick. Multiple reports have indicated Indiana is the biggest threat to sign Ayton. The Suns will still have 48 hours to match any deal he receives, but once ink hits an offer sheet, he cannot be traded for at least six months." Nicolas Kyle Pring writes: "Failing to acquire Deandre Ayton will not in any form mean the end of the world for the Indiana Pacers, as they are far from being a one-piece-away club. Michael Scotto writes: "Rival NBA executives believe the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs could be holding onto their cap space to be a part of a blockbuster Durant trade where they’d be a salary dump destination in exchange for draft pick compensation. This is an incredible Durant return for the Nets. They get a young All-Star in Mitchell, a true 3-and-D wing in Bridges, and a starting center in Turner. Brooklyn couldn’t ask for anything more than this. Dan Devine writes: "If what he’s going to be is what he’s just been, and if a shuffled-up Suns roster winds up hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy, then Phoenix and its fans likely won’t spend too much time weeping for the memories of Ayton’s time in the desert. Pulling off this deal gives Phoenix one of the most overloaded offenses in all of basketball, lands Durant at the destination atop his most preferred list and makes the Suns championship contenders so long as Paul stays healthy running the point. If Ayton is traded, his Bird Rights revert to Non-Bird Rights, and his new team would only be able to re-sign him to a 20 percent raise from his $16.4 million salary for a total of $85 million over four years. If Indiana wants to be aggressive and force Phoenix's hand, it could waive Washington, whose $1.6 million for the 2022-23 season has not been guaranteed, according to Spotrac. The team could trade former lottery pick Goga Bitadze, who's owed $4.8 million for the upcoming season. And as Marks mentioned, the Pacers could waive former IU star Juwan Morgan, Nik Stauskas and Malik Fitts — who were acquired from the Celtics in a trade for Malcolm Brogdon — and stretch their guaranteed money over the next few seasons. ... The Pacers are tired of waiting and they went for it and made this move." Making things even more interesting is the fact that if the Suns match the offer, they will enter the luxury tax for the first time since 2009.

The Suns had, in the past, been hesitant to give Ayton a max contract. He wanted one after helping lead the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals, but Phoenix reportedly ...

Even without Durant, this is a blow for Phoenix. The Suns have made it clear that they do not consider Ayton to be a max player. That means that the Pacers will be off of the table as a trade partner for Ayton for the foreseeable future. He just averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game for the Suns, and with less scoring around him in Indiana, he would have a chance to improve his scoring even more. With the Suns possibly off of the table for the time being, Durant might have to keep an open mind about destinations if his heart is set on getting traded. The Suns had, in the past, been hesitant to give Ayton a max contract. Deandre Ayton and the Indiana Pacers have agreed to a four-year, $133 million max offer sheet, his agent told ESPN, which was later confirmed by CBS Sports' Bill Reiter. The Phoenix Suns, Ayton's original team, will have 48 hours to decide whether or not they are willing to match the offer from the moment he signs it.

Ayton is reportedly signing a maximum-salary deal with Indiana, but Phoenix is expected to match.

According to Wojnarowski, the Suns never made Ayton a formal offer in free agency. As Marks observes ( via Twitter), the Pacers technically can’t sign Ayton without making moves to clear additional cap space. However, some have been critical about his shortcomings, mainly that he doesn’t get to the free throw line much despite a muscular frame. Once those moves are made, they cannot be reversed if Phoenix decides to match. As Marks notes, if the Suns match the offer sheet, Ayton will have the ability to veto any trade starting January 15, which is when he’d be trade-eligible. Sign-and-trades are not permissible once an offer sheet has been signed, so a potential swap for Pacers center Myles Turner is off the table once Ayton signs the deal.

The Toronto Raptors sit at +1800 to acquire Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton, Vegas sportsbooks say.

The Raptors have long been reported to be interested in acquiring a more traditional center this summer. The Pacers sit at -175, conveying about a 63% chance Indiana either acquires Ayton via a sign-and-trade or offer sheet this summer. The Indiana Pacers may be the heavy favorites to land Deandre Ayton this summer but Vegas hasn't entirely counted out the Toronto Raptors as a potential landing spot for the Phoenix Suns' disgruntled center.

He wanted one after helping lead the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals, but Phoenix reportedly did not believe he was worth such a hefty contract. Now, the decision ...

Even without Durant, this is a blow for Phoenix. The Suns have made it clear that they do not consider Ayton to be a max player. That means that the Pacers will be off of the table as a trade partner for Ayton for the foreseeable future. He just averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game for the Suns, and with less scoring around him in Indiana, he would have a chance to improve his scoring even more. With the Suns possibly off of the table for the time being, Durant might have to keep an open mind about destinations if his heart is set on getting traded. The Suns had, in the past, been hesitant to give Ayton a max contract. Deandre Ayton and the Indiana Pacers have agreed to a four-year, $133 million max offer sheet, his agent told ESPN, which was later confirmed by CBS Sports' Bill Reiter. The Phoenix Suns, Ayton's original team, will have 48 hours to decide whether or not they are willing to match the offer from the moment he signs it.

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.

There could a new big man coming to Indiana, as the Pacers signed Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton to an offer sheet on Thursday. Here's what you should ...

He and coach Monty Williams appeared to have a brief disagreement on the sideline and, when asked about it postgame, Williams responded: "It's internal." Ayton has averaged a double-double in each of his four seasons in Phoenix, with career averages of 16.3 points and 10.5 rebounds. Deandre Ayton in college In 2021-22, he averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds. His blocked shot numbers are modest (1.0 per game over his career) and he is not a 3-point shooting threat. Deandre Ayton stats

The Phoenix Suns' poor decision to not max Deandre Ayton last October has reared its head after Ayton agreed to an offer sheet with Indiana.

It would not be the favorite. That was always a pipe dream, and in hindsight, the thinking was for different reasons. Ayton on that deal would have crossed him off ball clubs like the Nets with one of those guys they’ve acquired already. It is a different version of the reality it chose, anyway. That seems out the window, and again, would make it more difficult to acquire another ball-handler. While it was debatable whether or not Ayton deserved the max (and I thought he did), the only logical benefit to not signing him to that deal was less money on the books.

The Suns have elected to match the Pacers' max offer sheet for former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton.

They could also keep Ayton, have a conversation about the future and realize the best-case scenario is the 23-year-old staying in Phoenix. Ayton and the Pacers reached an agreement on a four-year, $133 million maximum offer sheet. Here's what we know about the deal that sees Ayton remain a Sun.

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.

Suns restricted free agent Deandre Ayton signed a maximum offer sheet with the Pacers that is worth four years, $133 million, per report.

That or a shorter deal was still on the table this summer. “We were two wins from a championship and I just really want to be respected, to be honest. That trade did not materialize, and Sabonis was instead dealt to the Sacramento Kings. Ayton averaged 14.4 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 blocks per game in 2020-21 before Phoenix’s NBA Finals run. The earliest the Suns could trade Ayton would be Jan. 15. That happened after he put the contract stalemate aside. “I love Phoenix but I’m really disappointed that we haven’t really gotten a deal done yet,” he said. There were rumblings Phoenix wanted to move on from Ayton beyond the failed-to-non-existent negotiations on an extension before the 2021-22 season. A five-year max extension for Ayton would have started in the $172.5 million range and amounted to up to $207 million with incentives. His play directly translated to the Suns’ success in the regular season and playoffs. If the Suns decide to match the offer sheet and retain the center, Ayton has the power of veto on any trade for a full year. According to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro and others, the Suns at the very least listened to a proposal centered around then-Indiana Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis and Ayton before the February trade deadline.

Deandre Ayton and the Pacers are in agreement on a four-year offer sheet worth $133 million, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Suns have 48 hours to match ...

The Suns haven’t shown interest in negotiating a sign-and-trade with the Pacers for Ayton, who is a restricted free agent. Ayton has been looking for a max deal for some time from Phoenix, but both sides were unable to come to an agreement. Deandre Ayton and the Pacers are in agreement on a four-year offer sheet worth $133 million, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Suns have 48 hours to match offer sheet, which would be the largest in NBA history.

RFA center Deandre Ayton has agreed to a four-year, $133M maximum offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers, his agents Nima Namakian (Innovate Sports) and Bill Duffy ...

Woj says Ayton “is signing” the offer sheet, meaning he hasn’t yet, and that the Suns aren’t on the clock yet. Woj reported Thursday afternoon that the Indiana Pacers agreed to a 4-year/$133 million max offer sheet with Phoenix Suns big man Deandre Ayton. So far, Suns haven't shown an interest in negotiating a sign-and-trade on Ayton with the Pacers, but the expectation remains that Phoenix will match the record-$133M offer sheet once it's signed, sources tell ESPN. Suns could trade Ayton as soon as Jan. 15 once sheet is matched.— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 14, 2022 - Indiana didn’t have the space to do this outright at the start of Thursday. They need to make some cap space, so if the offer sheet is really coming, be on the lookout for a salary dump type of move from the Pacers. ESPN’s Bobby Marks contributed as well that the offer sheet will be signed at midnight eastern — 9 p.m. AZ time — and so that’s the window for a trade to get done. RFA center Deandre Ayton has agreed to a four-year, $133M maximum offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers, his agents Nima Namakian (Innovate Sports) and Bill Duffy (BDA Sports + WME Sports) tell ESPN. The Phoenix Suns have 48 hours to match the largest offer sheet in NBA history.— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 14, 2022

The former No. 1 pick is reportedly staying in Phoenix.

However, Ayton will have the veto power over any trade for a full year. For more Phoenix Suns coverage, go to Inside The Suns. With Phoenix matching the offer, Ayton can be traded as early as Jan. 15.

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.

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.

The Suns have matched a max offer sheet from the Indiana Pacers for the restricted free agent to keep their starting center in Phoenix.

Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin. By matching the offer, the Suns can't trade Ayton to Indiana and Ayton has veto power on a trade to the remaining 28 teams for a year. The Suns have matched a max offer sheet from the Indiana Pacers of four years, $133 million for the restricted free agent to keep their starting center in Phoenix, sources confirmed to The Republic on Thursday evening.

On the Friday edition of The Crossover, former Suns GM Ryan McDonough discusses Deandre Ayton, the Suns and superstar trade demands.

And I do think if you asked me and somebody did the other day, like what’s the most likely outcome. The same premise applies to Sean Marks and the Nets that applied in my view to Daryl Morey and the Sixers when it came to Ben Simmons. You don’t make the deal just for the sake of solving this problem, or just for the sake of alleviating the headache. I think they’re doing this the right way or what’s right for the Nets. And I’d understand that, but if I were in the Nets’ front office—and it’s easy for me to say, doing an interview here with you in the bowels of Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas—but if I were the Brooklyn Nets, you’d probably go through the process. I said the most likely outcome, or if you’re gonna say which team he is most likely to be with on opening night, I’m still going with the Nets. It doesn’t mean I think that that’s absolutely going to happen. And I think the Sixers, look, we can debate whether or not they got the right deal with swapping Simmons for Harden, but it is the deal that they wanted and they weren’t gonna make a deal that they didn’t want. So I strongly feel as a former executive with the Celtics and Suns, that Brooklyn’s best option is to set an incredibly high bar. I’ve looked at the betting markets with the Suns as the incredibly heavy favorite to get Durant, and the Miami Heat and all that. Because if you look at the rest of the Nets’ moves, in my opinion, they’re win-now moves. One of the things I’ve wondered, and I may be in the minority here, but I wonder if the Brooklyn Nets want to trade Kevin Durant or if they’re setting a bar so incredibly high—and in my opinion, I think that bar got even higher after Utah got what they ended up getting for Rudy Gobert—that the Nets say, O.K., yeah, give us seven first-round picks and pick swaps and a good All-Star in his prime and a young player, a package that no team really has or would offer. Plus, McDonough proposes a solution to stem the tide of superstar trade demands. Listen to the full episode on podcast players everywhere or on SI.com.

The Phoenix Suns retaining Deandre Ayton means both the team and Ayton have some work to do to get the best out of the situation.

He did in this series more than he ever has before and it led to the best offensive stretch of his career. And the funny thing is, for as much as the Suns running back a similar version of last year’s roster inspires trepidation, if both sides are better about it, Phoenix’s odds of winning a championship increase greatly. There are some nights where he’s locked in and the Suns don’t capitalize on it, and that’s on them. At the start of the 2020-21 season, Phoenix and especially its point guard Chris Paul tried to get Ayton going in some type of bigger offensive role. But then moments like the second round would roll around when it was in the Suns’ best interests to prioritize Ayton against a small Mavericks team. It was clunky, never got much easier and the Suns bailed. Phoenix matched a four-year, $133 million offer sheet Ayton signed with the Indiana Pacers. For all the talk that a center in today’s NBA wasn’t going to get paid the max, Ayton did, and he deserves a shoutout for it. It brought that on itself by not initially paying him and portraying a lack of faith in his abilities. Now, though, it’s Phoenix needing to prove to Ayton that they believe in him by giving him that desired role. It starts and ends from there, as we’ve seen with the endless benefits of Williams’ tight rapports across the roster. Otherwise, Jan. 15 is going to linger over the Suns’ year. The Suns throughout the year provided the same answers on wanting to see more consistency out of Ayton’s high-end performances when his potential really shined.

Deandre Ayton is back with the Suns after they matched the Pacers' offer sheet. How does that impact the Suns and the rest of the league's pursuit of Kevin ...

Sure, he has to go to an awkward work environment, but he got the max deal that he was seeking. The Raptors still make the most sense as a Durant landing spot, and the Ayton deal does little to change that. And they avoided including the dreaded player options and trade kickers that Ayton certainly would have asked from them. They still have Mikal Bridges and matching salaries in the form of a few players (Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder or Landry Shamet), plus four first-round draft picks and three pick swaps. Opinions on his value vary significantly, and it is quite possible that the Nets weren't thrilled with the idea of him taking up a quarter of their salary cap. Ayton can't be traded until Jan. 15, and he has full veto power over a trade for the next year.

May 15, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Monty. Internal problems can range from a gas bubble to a chronic condition, and two months later, ...

Ayton is smart enough, and self-aware enough, to realize what he has with the Suns can’t be easily replaced. Ayton is a reason for that, something the Suns must convince Ayton they sincerely believe. Unless Ayton wants to leave, his relationship with the Suns can be fixed. And the number of people constantly in his ears about showing heart, giving effort, achieving consistency? By waiting and choosing this route with Ayton, the Suns saved some money. Not that the two parties aren’t accustomed to that.