Happy Friday, all! Hope you’re doing well.
I realize you may be reading this while watching The Open Championship or at least keeping up with our live leaderboard. After a tough opening-round 78, Tiger Woods’ struggles have continued and it looks like he is in serious dangerous of missing the cut. Meanwhile, Cameron Young shot an 8-under 64 to take the Day 1 lead, and Rory McIlroy — who tees off at 9:59 a.m. — was second through 18 holes at 6 under. As of Friday morning, Dustin Johnson is atop the leaderboard.
As for the rest of the sports world, let’s get right to it.
Good morning to everyone but especially to…
Deandre Ayton is getting paid the really big bucks. Ayton, a restricted free agent, signed a record 4-year, $133-million offer sheet from the Pacers yesterday, but the Suns, Ayton’s original team, immediately matched that, keeping him in Phoenix… for now.
- Ayton cannot be traded until Jan. 15, 2023 at the earliest and cannot be traded to the Pacers at all this upcoming season. He can also veto any trade for a year.
- Ayton sought a 5-year, $172-million extension last year, but the Suns refused to offer it (more on that in a bit).
- At 23, he is one of just six players to average at least 10 points and 10 rebounds each of the last four seasons, joining, among others, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.
In addition to getting a big contract, Ayton could conceivably hit free agency again at 27, still right in his prime. And if he is truly too fed up with Phoenix to stay (I promise, more on that in a bit!), he could find a new home within the next several months.
Honorable mentions
And not such a good morning for…
THE PHOENIX SUNS…
Last offseason, the Suns — fresh off their first NBA Finals appearance in nearly 30 years — could have given Deandre Ayton a max contract. They decided not to. Two months ago, the Suns — fresh off the best regular-season record in the NBA — shockingly collapsed in the second round against the Mavericks, with Ayton spending much of the second half of Game 7 on the bench.
Head coach Monty Williams cited “internal” reasons. Ayton didn’t speak to the media. According to reports, Ayton “did not feel valued” by the franchise after the contract negotiations. And now we’re here. The Suns had to match the Pacers’ offer sheet — and sign him to the type of deal they declined to do last summer — simply to avoid losing…
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