***UPDATE The Phoenix Suns Have Matched Indiana Pacers’ Offer Sheet for Ayton ***
Basketball insider Shams Charania has just tweeted that the Suns have matched the four year $133 million offer for Deandre Ayton. As a result, Ayton will remain on the Suns and won’t be able to be traded until January 15, 2023 at the earliest. What does this mean for their Kevin Durant pursuit? Who knows but it has just gotten more complicated for them. We’ll see what happens.
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Deandre Ayton has Agreed to a max offer sheet by the Indiana Pacers according to Adrian Wojnarowski on twitter. Once the center signs it, the Phoenix Suns have 48 hours to match the offer to keep him. It seems like Ayton will probably sign the contract in the next few hours. However, there still could be time for the Suns to do a sign and trade in the next few hours according to Bobby Marks on Twitter. But it they do not, then that option is gone.
Deandre Ayton Agreed to Max Offer Sheet – What does it Mean For Phoenix?
If Ayton signs the offer sheet, then the Suns have two options. They either match the offer and keep them or the do not and let him go for nothing Both scenarios complicate their desire to acquire Kevin Durant. If they match the offer, they cannot use Ayton in a trade until after January 15, 2023. Also, Ayton has Veto power on any trade he is involved in for a year. This means at the least they will have to wait until January 15, 2023 to make a trade for Durant or if Ayton vetoes it, then it is next summer. Will Brooklyn wait that long?
If the lose him for nothing, then they have lost an asset to put into the Durant trade and probably means they do not have enough to acquire him. Only hope is that they can do some sign and trade in the next few hours with Indiana and get something for Ayton to put into a potential Durant trade.
Conclusion
The next few hours are going to be quite interesting for Phoenix, they are literally under the gun. If Ayton signs that offer sheet, then the suns might be effectively be out the of Keven Durant sweepstakes unless Brooklyn can afford to wait it out. However the situation in Brooklyn seems pretty toxic and the Nets owner to to move on from Durant and Irving. This opens the door for teams like the Raptors to potentially acquire Durant. Time to get your popcorn, things are getting more interesting!
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