Deandre Ayton may be on the move. 

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Pacers are “very close” to executing a sign-and-trade with the Suns for 23-year-old Ayton, who was the first overall pick in 2018. 

The Pacers finalized a trade with the Celtics over the weekend, in which they shipped guard Malcolm Brogdon — and the remaining $22.6 million on his contract — to Boston. 

“That is now on the verge of happening and that is opening enough cap space to almost give Deandre Ayton the max contract that he’s looking for,” Windhorst said Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “We could see something with the Pacers and Ayton as early as today. The whole league is waiting to see if this is the next domino to fall.” 

Ayton averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds this past season, which was his fourth in the NBA. He started 58 games at center for the Suns, who finished with the best regular-season record in the league at 64-18.

Ayton, however, seemed to fall out of favor in Phoenix during the playoffs, particularly in the Suns’ unceremonious Game 7 loss to the Mavericks. Ayton did not play during the second half, benched by Suns’ coach Monty Williams for “internal reasons.” Ayton and Williams seemed to engage in a verbal spat on the sideline and had to be separated from each other. 

Hard feelings between parties could stem back to October, when Ayton and the Suns could not reach an agreement on a full max contract, the likes of which Ayton desired after helping anchor Phoenix’s run to the NBA Finals in 2021. As a result, Ayton is now a restricted free agent with a cap hold of $31.5 million, enabling him to sign an offer sheet elsewhere — though the Suns ultimately retain matching rights.