“The Phoenix Suns are finished” Deandre Ayton signs 4-year, $133 Million contract with Indians Pacers on a max sheet offer
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Deandre Ayton
When there were reports of Deandre Ayton and Phoenix Suns not being on the same page, handful of NBA Fans thought that the RFA Center would be making his way out of Monty Williams’ team. Having built a great pick-up-and-roll partnership with majority of Suns’ players, Ayton was an absolute monster on either ends of the court, yet he joined a new team in a shocking move in the 2022-23 off season.
However it isn’t the end of the road, Deandre Ayton can still represent the Phoenix Suns, if the team matches the same offering couple of day’s time. For those who are not aware of the dynamics, this spoken off 23-year-old Center did have a $16.4 million qualifying offer remaining on his deal for the 2022-23 season if he wanted to play out the string with Phoenix and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Would Suns allow Deandre Ayton to join newly formed Indiana Pacers?
The stalemate between Ayton and the Suns came amid a series of deals for several other top players in the 2018 draft, including No. 3 pick Luka Doncic and No. 5 pick Trae Young. Moreover, NBA Insiders like Wojnarowski and Windhorst revealed that the Phoenix Suns “raised the concept” of a shorter max deal in the three-to-four-year range but never formally presented an offer.
While many would argue that the Phoenix Suns aren’t usually a big team-handing out massive contracts to their marquee players. They surely went out of the box to hold onto Chris Paul lay off season as they handed him a four-year-deal worth up to $140 Million in August.
Not only that, Devin Booker previously signed a rookie max extension in 2018. The five-year, $158.2 million deal keeps him under contract to the Suns through the 2023-24 season. What’s ever more humiliating for Ayton, is that Mikal Bridges who was acquired by the team in the same draft has already signed a four-year, $90 million extension.So does Deandre Ayton fit with the Indiana Pacers? It is a team which has finished under .500 in each of the two previous seasons. The team has already made some worthy acquisitions on the offensive end, and with Deandre Ayton coming to the defensive end, they could make heatwaves in the conference.
The evolution of Ayton’s game was instrumental in the Phoenix Suns, eventually becoming one of the best teams in the Western Conference. His age and all-around skill set suggest he has only scratched the surface of his full potential. On the same note will we witness Suns making a move for their big man? Remains to be seen.
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Yakshpat Bhargava
(3989 Articles Published)