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The Phoenix Suns have decided to give their young core, and former number overall pick Deandre Ayton another opportunity to make a run at the NBA championship. The Suns have matched the Indiana Pacers offer sheet and have decided to keep the big man in Phoenix on a mega deal.
The Phoenix Suns have matched Deandre Ayton's four-year, $133M offer sheet from the Indiana Pacers, his agents told @wojespn.
Ayton can't be traded without his consent for a full year. pic.twitter.com/ZXm57dkjqz
— ESPN (@espn) July 15, 2022
The man with all the big NBA news, Adrian Wojnarowski, reported earlier on Thursday that the Pacers offered Ayton the largest offer sheet deal in the league’s history for a restricted free agent. The Suns had 48 hours to match the contract, or Ayton would be packing his bags for Indiana. Phoenix wasted little time keeping Ayton in the desert.
Wojnarowski also reported that Ayton would have full veto power in any trade that he is involved in, should Phoenix look to move him. The decision to re-sign Ayton all but ends the quest for the Suns to acquire Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets. Ths Suns believe in the core of Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Chris Paul, and Ayton.
The Suns surprised everyone by making a Finals appearance in 2021. They failed to return to the Finals in 2022 after a shocking Western Conference Semi-Finals Series loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
