On Thursday afternoon, Deandre Ayton signed the largest offer sheet in NBA history. It came from the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers gave Ayton an offer sheet for four years, $133 million which the former No. 1 overall pick signed. From that point, the Phoenix Suns had until 11:59pm EST on Saturday night to match the offer and retain the center. It didn’t take long for the Suns to match the offer meaning Ayton would be returning to Phoenix for the 2022-23 season. The Pacers made several roster moves in order to clear enough cap space to sign Ayton to a max deal. They waived guard Duane Washington Jr. as well as three players they received in the trade that sent Malcolm Brogdon to the Boston Celtics.
IndyCar goes north of the border this weekend for the Honda Indy Toronto around the streets of Ontario’s capital city. Drivers will go 85 laps and over 150 miles around the 11 turn street circuit for the first race in Toronto since 2019. After a hectic week for Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing, the team announced the defending series champion will race in the No. 10 car this weekend just days after he accused the team of an unapproved quote in a release about picking up the driver’s option in 2023. Practice for Toronto begins on Friday afternoon at 2:30pm followed by qualifications on Saturday. The green flag flies around 3:20 on Sunday, July 17.
The Pacers wrap up the last scheduled matchup of their summer league slate on Friday against the Washington Wizards. Indiana is 2-1 through three games with wins over the Charlotte Hornets and the Detroit Pistons. Throughout Summer League, the Wizards have been led by former Duke big man Vernon Carey Jr. who turned in a double-double on Sunday. Pacers lottery pick Bennedict Mathurin has led the way for the blue and gold with a pair of 20-point perfromances. Tip off for the Pacers on Friday is set for 9:00pm.
