Restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton will return to the Phoenix Suns, who matched a four-year, $133 million maximum contract offer sheet Ayton signed with the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.
The Suns had two days to match that offer — the largest in NBA history — or allow the No. 1 pick of the 2018 NBA Draft to walk without compensation. But it didn’t take them long to make an emphatic decision.
[embed]https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1547737806402834432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw[/embed]The offer sheet for Ayton surpasses the one for forward Otto Porter Jr. in 2017. Porter was presented with a four-year, $107 million deal with the Brooklyn Nets in 2017, only to see the Washington Wizards match that offer.
Ayton, who will turn 24 later this month, averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds in 58 games (all starts) this past season. He has contributed averages of 16.3 points and 10.5 rebounds in 236 career games (229 starts) with the Suns.
–Field Level Media ()