The record offer sheet Deandre Ayton signed Thursday with the Pacers and which was quickly matched by the Suns, certainly complicates the Nets’ ongoing efforts to trade superstar Kevin Durant.
Ayton, a restricted free agent, was inked to a four-year, $133 million offer sheet, and Phoenix opted against losing the No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 NBA Draft for nothing, according to multiple reports.
Ayton now is ineligible to be traded until Jan. 15, and he has veto power on any trade thereafter for the first year of the deal. The binding offer sheet also negated the possibility of his inclusion in a sign-and-trade with the Pacers or a third team, which was considered the most likely path for the Suns to obtain Durant.
The Nets have been fielding offers for Durant since he requested a trade on June 30, but The Post reported earlier this week there is increasing sentiment among league personnel that one or both of Durant and Kyrie Irving would still be on the Nets’ roster when training camp begins in September.
The Suns finished with a league-best 64-18 record last season before being bounced in the second round of the playoffs by the Mavericks and their star player, Luka Doncic, who was selected third overall in 2018, behind Ayton and Marvin Bagley III.
Ayton’s original deal with Indiana surpasses the $107 million offer sheet Otto Porter Jr. received in 2017 from the Nets, which was matched by the Wizards. The largest unmatched deal for a restricted free agent remains Harrison Barnes’ $94.4 million tender from the Mavericks in 2016.
The Pacers traded guard Malcolm Brogdon to the Celtics earlier this offseason to help create salary-cap space to facilitate the acquisition of the 6-foot-11 Ayton, who averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds in 58 games last season for the Suns.
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