3 shocking facts about the Pacers and Deandre Ayton agreeing to largest restricted free agency offer in NBA history

The Indiana Pacers have reportedly agreed to a 4-year, $133 million offer sheet with long-time Phoenix Suns star Deandre Ayton, who is now a restricted free agent.

Phoenix's front office will have 48 hours to match the offer sheet, which they are expected to, even if such a move would push them deep into the luxury tax. However, if they don't believe Ayton is a max-contract player, they risk losing him for nothing.

Meanwhile, if the Suns do let Ayton walk, the Pacers will pay out the largest deal in the history of NBA's restricted free agency -- and the largest average annual value contract in team franchise history.

With that in mind, here is what you need to know about the deal.

1. The Suns can no longer sign-and-trade Deandre Ayton to land Kevin Durant (or anyone else)

When news broke that Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, the Suns were soon listed as one of his preferred destinations.

It was pretty easy to connect the dots that a sign-and-trade centered around Ayton would make a lot of sense for both parties, even if Ayton were simply re-routed to a third team.

But restricted free agents who agree to an offer sheet are not allowed to be included in sign-and-trade transactions. So in turn, the biggest consequence of today's news is that Ayton cannot be involved in a sign-and-trade for KD.

Phoenix could potentially still land KD in a trade centered around Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson, but that feels less enticing for Brooklyn. So with the Suns potentially weakening their bid, does that mean Durant ends up staying with the Nets next season?

2. The Pacers never give offer sheets in restricted free agency, but agreed to the largest ever

A few years ago, as we explained here, Indiana's front office took a particularly surprising approach to acquire their former guard Malcolm Brogdon.

Although they could have agreed to an offer sheet with Brogdon, Pacers owner Herb Simon is typically against the concept and often prefers sign-and-trade deals. Scott Agness provided more context:

"The Pacers have only signed one player to an offer sheet. Herb Simon, the longest-tenured owner in the NBA, is adamantly opposed to bidding on another team’s player. It’s a long-standing belief he’s held since becoming owner of the team with his brother in 1983.

Forward Chris Copeland was the one restricted free agent they signed and it was nearly a decade ago, in 2013. When they signed him to a two-year deal worth over $6 million, they did so knowing the Knicks were restricted themselves and could not match it.

The Pacers also weren’t interested in taking Malcolm Brogdon away from the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019. The Bucks, another small-market team, were calling around to teams trying to offload him in a sign-and-trade and the Pacers front office offered two second-round picks.

In a unique scenario, Simon got involved and called Bucks owner Marc Lasry — then also included a future first-round pick."

That means the Pacers went from extending a total of one offer sheet in nearly 40 years to extending the largest offer sheet in league history, topping the previous record by $26 million.

This is a strange change of tune, especially considering that as noted by ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Simon "doesn't like hurting" other NBA owners. Why, then, was the Pacers ownership group comfortable doing as much to Suns owner Robert Sarver?

It's a fascinating question and something to consider for all parties.

3. The Pacers would likely soon trade Myles Turner to clear cap space, positional redundancy

HoopsHype's Yossi Gozlan noted that the Pacers do not presently have the cap space to sign Ayton to the reported amount of the offer sheet. With that in mind, Indiana's front office will have to tweak its roster to accommodate the potential transaction.

Some moves around the edges could help, but Ayton's arrival would still have a massive impact on Turner. Even though Ayton and Turner share an agent, I don't see the two players ever playing alongside one another.

Indiana tried a two-big lineup with Turner and Domantas Sabonis for several years, and last season, they finally decided to pull the plug on the operation. After executing the blockbuster trade of Sabonis for Tyrese Haliburton, it feels unlikely they would immediately turn around and re-invest so much of their space into another expensive frontcourt pairing.

For what it's worth, Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer recently reported that Turner "has not generated significant traction" on the trade market. That is a little surprising considering he is a floor spacer on offense and a rim protector on defense.

If he is traded, there is no obvious frontrunner for his services. Perhaps the Mavs or the Lakers are potential suitors. Maybe the Raptors could have an interest.

Turner's likely availability has massive implications for contenders.

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