The Indiana Pacers are willing to do anything to land Deandre Ayton from the Phoenix Suns, but the Kevin Durant drama has been a major roadblock in their pursuit.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Pacers are pondering giving Ayton an offer sheet and even work with the Suns for a sign-and-trade deal for the big man. However, with Phoenix focused on pursuing Durant from the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana hasn't been able to really gain any traction in their chase.
Besides if the Suns were to make a trade for Durant, it's possible that Ayton would be part of it one way or another. The 2018 no. 1 overall pick is a restricted free agent, so Phoenix can match any offer he receives and has complete control of his destiny.
“The Indiana Pacers are seriously considering giving him [Deandre Ayton] an offer sheet. They're also interested in negotiating a sign-and-trade with the Phoenix Suns for Ayton, potentially involving Myles Turner to be his replacement at center. But holding everything up is the Suns' negotiations for Kevin Durant, which are not probably gonna end soon and Ayton may have to move on and do his own deal,” Windhorst explained.
The general belief is that a Kevin Durant trade could take weeks or even months to get done. Given that the Nets are asking for a lot, the Suns might need to involve one or two more teams to facilitate it and get Brooklyn what they want in return.
Of course that is bad news for the Pacers, as it means they could miss out on Ayton.
Nothing is set in stone as of the moment, though Indiana is certainly hoping the Ayton situation develops into a favorable scenario for them.
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