Deandre Ayton, Indiana Pacers Agree to 4-year, $133 Million Offer Sheet: Report

The Phoenix Suns bowed out in pathetic fashion in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals, blown out by 33 points against the Dallas Mavericks. 

Now, just two months later, they’re close to losing their star center. 

On Thursday, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Deandre Ayton has agreed to a four-year, $133 million maximum contract offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers, meaning the Suns have 48 hours to match the offer or lose Ayton without compensation. Ayton is a restricted-free agent. 








According to Woj, the offer from the Pacers is the largest offer sheet in the history of the league. 

Ayton, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, has been seeking a max contract from the Suns for over a year, with Phoenix never making an offer. 

“We’re disappointed. We wanted a max contract,” Ayton’s agent Bill Duffy said in May, according to RealGM. “He went out and was a solider the whole year, played well, improved his statistics. So, we’re proud of him. A lot of guys handle things differently, but he was very mature about it."

"Things will work out for Deandre. He’s a valuable player," Duffy said. "There’s other teams in the league as well. He’s a restricted free agent, so we’ll see how this process unfolds.”

According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, Phoenix still has some time to work out a sign-and-trade.














Ayton has been more than just a quality center, averaging 16.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in his four seasons. Ayton averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds for Phoenix in 58 games during the 2021-2022 season. 

In the Game 7 loss to the Mavericks, Ayton played just 17 minutes, with head coach Monty Williams saying the reason for the low minutes was “internal.” 

It’s been a busy offseason for the Pacers, trading guard Malcolm Brogdon to the Boston Celtics at the beginning of July.