Suns Have Two Days To Match Or Trade Deandre Ayton To Pacers

The Suns and Pacers have time to work out a sign-and-trade arrangement involving center Deandre Ayton before an offer sheet is officially signed, per Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Indiana has offered Ayton a four-year, $133 million contract, the largest offer to a restricted free agent in NBA history, as relayed by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Multiple reports suggest the Suns are looking at a sign-and-trade that will center on Ayton and Pacers center Myles Turner. With Ayton, the Pacers would have little reason to keep Turner — and without Ayton, the Pacers could sure use him.

“Because the clock to match doesn’t start until midnight, both sides still have time work out a sign-and-trade before the offer sheet is officially signed,” Marks wrote.

Should Ayton officially sign the deal, the Suns could only match. They could not acquire players in a trade.

“Sign-and-trade deals are longer allowed once Ayton signs the offer sheet with Indiana,’ Wojnarowski reported. “If the Suns do match the offer sheet, they can’t trade Ayton anywhere until at least Jan. 15 — and can’t trade him to Indiana for a year.”