After the Suns successfully retained Ayton, a sentence from the Phoenix media made the Pacers so heartbroken. The Phoenix media wrote: "The Pacers traded Brogdon and laid off 4 players. , freed up salary space, thinking that the sun would not match (maximum salary offer), but the sun only took 10 minutes to make them desperate! "
It is estimated that the Pacers management was so angry at this time, but they Nothing to say.
Many fans said that the Suns did go too far. After all, the Pacers have been busy for a long time to get Ayton, and the Suns used a matching contract to make the Pacers' work during this period of time in vain.
However, the Suns' choice to match Ayton's contract also paid a heavy price.
First, in terms of funds, salary expert Bobby Marks analyzed that in order to match the Pacers' offer, the Suns' total salary exceeded the luxury tax line. For this reason, the Suns will also increase the luxury tax by $32 million. This is not easy for the Suns owner, who has always been known for being stingy. Moreover, coupled with Ayton's salary of 30 million next season, the Suns spent a total of 62 million US dollars while matching Ayton's offer this time. , such a price is indeed not small.
also made huge sacrifices in personnel reinforcement, because it matched Ayton's contract offer, which means that Ayton has the right to veto trades for one season. In other words, if the Suns want to trade Ayton midway, The next party to the transaction must obtain Ayton's permission, otherwise, Ayton can refuse. The Suns will not be able to trade Ayton until January 15, 2023 at the earliest.
Previously, Durant applied to be traded to the Suns. The Suns also offered multiple plans to the Nets , but they were all rejected by the Nets. The main bargaining chip in these offers was Ayton. Now the Suns By choosing to match Ayton's contract, it can basically be announced that the Suns have withdrawn from the competition for Durant. After all, other than Ayton, the Suns really can't offer a better bargaining chip.
The Suns had the best record in the league last season, but were eliminated by the Mavericks led by Doncic in the second round. Although it surprised many fans, they hope that next season, the Suns will complete their rebirth and enter the finals again.
