Deandre Ayton Agrees To Max Offer Sheet

It's a move that has been in the works for days, and today the Indiana Pacers and Deandre Ayton have pulled the trigger. The restricted free agent center has agreed to the largest offer sheet 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 (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 offer sheet is for the maximum 4-year, $133M. 

The clock on the agreement doesn't start until midnight, so the teams have until then to work out a sign-and-trade. If they can't, then starting at 12:01am Friday, the Phoenix Suns will have 48 hours to match the offer, or lose Ayton for nothing. 

If the Suns do match—which will force them $15M into the luxury tax—they can't trade Ayton until at least Jan. 15. But they are not allowed to trade him to Indiana for a full year.

Ayton was furious last offseason when the Suns refused to extend him a max rookie extension, and then when he finished the season pinned to the bench in their decisive Game 7 elimination in the playoffs, the situation become even more tense. 

Should be an even more intense 48 hours now.

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