The Phoenix Suns had 48 hours to match the maximum offer the Indiana Pacers made Thursday for star center DeAndre Ayton if they didn’t want to lose the All-Star, according to media reports, the aforementioned two days they had in the deadline weren’t remotely necessary to make a decision.
After Ayton agreed to the Pacers’ four-year, $133 million max offer, the Suns wasted no time and according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania have already matched the offer, thus keeping the former first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft with the team that had the best record in the entire regular season in the NBA.
Ayton, with veto power of a trade for one-year
In addition, if this report is made official, Ayton could be traded as early as Jan. 15, 2023, however, per NBA policies regarding restricted free agents whose original team matches the original offer, he has the veto power to reject any trade for one year.
DeAndre Ayton has been a vital player to the Suns’ great pace over the past two seasons, although he has not yet been able to live up to the expectations of a first overall pick in a Draft, however, he is days away from turning 24 years old, so his best days are expected to be ahead of him.
The Suns’ doubts about Ayton’s maturity
As a result, the Suns, who were initially reluctant to sign Ayton to a max contract, had to decide to do so after seeing close to a real possibility of losing him to the Pacers.
Part of Phoenix’s main doubts about Ayton have to do with his maturity level, as in 2019 he was suspended for 25 games in the 2019 season after violating the NBA’s Anti-Drug Program after testing positive on an anti-doping test due to a diuretic.
Marca
