Around the NBA: 2022 Offseason

Unless they make it by midnight. After that, that ship has sailed.

 

Likely: Phoenix matches. They pay the contract with 5% rather than 8% raises.
Possible: On December 15, IIRC, Ayton can waive his right not to be traded … and goes to a team he wants except for Indiana (unless he is traded to another team who then moves him to Indiana).
In a year, Phoenix can trade him, regardless.

EDITED: Woj says January 15 (not December 15) is the date WITH permission by Ayton.

 

I kinda trust Bobby Marks on this one.

 

BATUM and Minnesota!

 

Did Ayton accept it? I edited my original that he accepted per the reporting. Once accepted … ?

Regarding Bobby Marks, he knows MORE than me … no question. The time period starting at midnight sounds right/familiar. Accepted? Signed by Ayton? That’s where I don’t recall 100% … it doesn’t happen much for my failing memory.

EDITED: After more reading, including Woj tweets, it sounds like Ayton hasn’t signed and IND is turning the screws a bit.

 

Yes.

Allen Crabbe and Brooklyn?

How about our offers for...

Kanter and OKC ?

or

Millsap and Utah?

All three contracts were essentially poison pills hamstringing the team. We STILL have Allen Crabbe's ghost contract in our dead cap this year. Even Batum's deal was thought of as an overpay at the time and came with a 15% trade kicker.

 

If Ayton actually physically signed the offer sheet, they can't work out a sign and trade. I think what Marks was saying was if he hadn't physically signed it yet, there would be some wiggle room until midnight.

Kinda BS if the league allows Ayton to "fake" sign to leverage the Suns in a sign and trade.

 

Maybe Phoenix is in on it?

 

Look at the highest pad centers, with Aytons new deal it would put him at about 33m yr. same as KAT, Embid & Joker.

 

That will put the Suns around 17M above the tax line...meaning a 33-35M tax bill. Yeah, Sarver will love that

 

Just to refresh our memories:

“If a team matches an offer sheet and retains its free agent, then for one year they cannot trade him without his consent, and during that year cannot trade him at all to the team that signed him to the offer sheet. They also can't trade the player in a sign-and-trade transaction (see question number 92). A restricted free agent's resulting contract (whether with the new team or the contract is matched by the player's prior team) cannot be amended in any manner for one year.”

 

Between the signing and the matching [tweets by Bobby Marks and Shams Charania] was less than 20 minutes.
Nice of the Suns not to make the Pacers dangle.

January 15 and the trade deadline?
Interesting to see how this affects Durant. Donovan Mitchell, too.

 

The Pacers made the Suns do what they expressly did not want to do.

 

True but the Pacers have to walk back with their tails between their legs in regards to Myles Turner now.

It is obvious Indy was hoping they could swap Turner for Ayton and Phoenix told them to kick rocks.

 

Myles Turner and Deandre Ayton have the same agent, Bill Duffy, who has an extensive list of clients. This seems more like a favor to me than a misstep.

 

Very interesting. The plot thickens.

 

From the chatter, reports and all going back prior to last season …
1. PHX didn’t want to give the max, max raises AND especially the 5th year.
2. Given the context of last season (good and bad and evidence of Ayton and …), they weren’t doing the 5-year max.
3. The potential sign and trade to Brooklyn wasn’t including Booker and some reporting suggests Bridges and Ayton and a host of picks was just too much even for Durant. That MAY fit no trade happening.

4. What DID Phoenix do? Match the max IND could do. 4 years NOT 5. 5% raises NOT 8%. No rookie extension max designation that Booker has. And that’s a big deal to avoid unless those two are that good. [Brooklyn already having Simmons as their traded-for-player has likely complicated trading Durant. Phoenix has avoided that problem.]

And they get Ayton for now … and in 6-12 months have options. This is NOT what PHX wanted. It probably is the best PHX could do and return Ayton and talent. One can assume James Jones prefers this option to any of the potential sign and trades (and Ayton would’ve have had to approve) or losing him outright.

Ayton gets paid ( … less than he wanted BUT a lot) and Phoenix pays tax for the first time in a while. James Jones (and staff) is a good GM.

 

Russ fired his agent or his agent fired Russ.

We'll see how that effects the movements this Summer.