Jones and Suns owner Robert Sarver were on hand when Ayton signed his contract from the franchise's practice facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. Jones said he was elated for Ayton, his family and the Suns to have him back. The 6-foot-11, 250-pounder played a key role in the Suns advancing to the 2021 NBA Finals. Ayton has averaged 16.3 points and 10.5 rebounds with Phoenix through the first four seasons of his career. (fourth), Trae Young (fifth) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11th). 1 pick of the renowned 2018 NBA draft that also included Luka Doncic (third), Jaren Jackson Jr. It ultimately led to him getting a max offer sheet that we matched."Īyton was the No. We had some really robust and good conversations. "I'm not going to go into the inner details," Jones said. Phoenix saved roughly $43 million and an extra year of contract with the matched offer sheet. Jones noted "negotiation" as the reason the Suns didn't offer a maximum contract to Ayton. I put all this behind me and focus on chasing a championship this upcoming season with my brothers."
They were aggressive from the start and showing a lot of love. "I got to give a lot of respect to the Pacers organization.
"The shift in free agency brought a lot of uncertainty through the whole process," Ayton said. 15, and he also owns a no-trade clause for a year.Īyton credited his agents, Bill Duffy and Nima Namakian, and client service representative, Bailey Williams, for keeping him "on the main focus and taking care of my side of the bargain" and views his roller-coaster free agency as "all in the past." With this new contract, the Suns cannot trade Ayton until Jan. But Phoenix showed no interest in a sign-and-trade deal with the Pacers, according to Wojnarowski. Moreover, the Pacers showed their interest by clearing $4.7 million in cap space by making roster moves with four players to sign Ayton. The Pacers were equally excited about the possibility of potentially adding Ayton and were open to a sign-and-trade deal, sources told ESPN's Andscape. So, we just wanted to make sure that we handled our business quickly."Īyton was enthusiastic about the possibility of pairing with talented young guard Tyrese Haliburton and becoming a centerpiece of the Pacers' rebuild, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. But if there's any doubt from anyone that we wanted him, I think that the matching did that. And if you're convicted, if you know what you want to do, you do it. So, waiting 24 hours, 48 hours, that wasn't something we needed to do because going into it, we knew this is where he wanted to be and where we wanted him to be. We wanted to keep him here, and the moment we can come to an agreement, we would. And throughout this whole process it was, it rang true. "He's vital to what we do, at the core of everything that we do. "We wanted Deandre here," Jones said in a phone interview. James also told ESPN's Andscape that it was "important" and "critical" to match immediately. Phoenix general manager James Jones said he told Ayton through the entire free agency process that he planned to re-sign him, including during a videoconference on July 1. The Suns had until 11:59 ET on July 14 to match the largest offer sheet in NBA history, but ended up matching it as soon as they received it. Instead, the "anxious" restricted free agent signed the four-year, $133 million max offer sheet with the Pacers on July 12. The Suns could have offered Ayton a five-year deal paying $179.6 million on July 1, but did not. Just keep being professional, approach everything with professionalism and not looking too deep into it." I just treated everything like a business. So, I was more anxious to know the end of the result so I could focus, move on and just get back to work. "I've come to understand that this is a business. "This contract not only has generational impact for my family, but also with the way we are able to work in the Phoenix community and home in the Bahamas.
"This is a blessing," Ayton told ESPN's Andscape in a phone conversation after signing his contract.
Phoenix suns news free agency upgrade#
You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĭeandre Ayton 'happy' with resolution after signing extension Phoenix Suns tout 'vital' pieceĭeandre Ayton says he gained generational wealth that can help his family and many others after signing a four-year, $133 million maximum contract extension to return to the Phoenix Suns on Monday.īut there was also a business lesson involved, too, for the young center as the contract initially came via a matched offer sheet from the Indiana Pacers.
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