PHOENIX — Negotiations for a contract extension between the Phoenix Suns and center DeAndre Ayton have reportedly ended without a deal, ESPN reports.
ESPN's NBA insider reporter, Adrian Wojnarowski, broke the news that the Suns and Ayton could not agree on a deal for a new contract extension.
Monday was the deadline for a deal to be set. Ayton will now become a restricted free agent next summer.
Ayton was seeking a maximum rookie contract extension, which would be for five years and $172.5 million and could go as high as $207 million.
Several other players from the 2018 draft class, in which the Suns took Ayton No. 1 overall, have already agreed to max deals, including Dallas' Luka Doncic, Atlanta's Trae Young, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver's Michael Porter Jr.
Ayton expressed his disappointment in his stalled negotiations last week.
"I love Phoenix, but I'm really disappointed we haven't really gotten a deal done yet," Ayton said previously. "I mean, we were two wins away from a championship and I just really wanted to be respected, to be honest. To be respected like my peers are being respected by their teams."
The Suns open the 2021-22 season on October 20 when they host the Denver Nuggets at the Footprint Center.
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