The Phoenix Suns have kept their starting center Deandre Ayton after matching the four-year, $133 million contract offered by the Indiana Pacers.

Agents Bill Duffy and Nima Namakia first reported the news to ESPN, and AP has since said it has confirmed the new deal.

It means that the extended drama between the 2018 NBA Draft first-overall selection and the Suns has finally ended.

The Pacers were quite busy during the offseason. They traded Malcolm Brogdon to the Boston Celtics for a group of assets that can offer little immediate help to the team. The team soon waived Duane Washington, a 22-year-old guard they acquired from that trade, to clear enough salary space to sign Ayton to the max offer sheet.

The deal was the biggest offer sheet in NBA history, and the Suns didn't hesitate to match it. They could have waited until noon on Saturday to make a decision but did so on Thursday night. ESPN revealed that the team had no intention to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal with the Pacers.

Still, the agreement raises many questions about the Suns' method of dealing with Ayton's situation. As the first selectee of the 2018 Class, Ayton expressed a desire to sign a maximum extension with the Suns in the summer of 2021. That's when others from the same class, including Luka Doncic (third), Trae Young (fifth), Jaren Jackson Jr (fourth) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11th), were offered and signed lucrative extensions.

The Suns didn't offer Ayton a similar deal in 2021. Neither did they do so in 2022. They made him a qualifying offer with a one-year, $16.4 million while holding the right to match any contract from any team.

After the Suns matched the Pacers' offer to keep Ayton, they couldn't trade him at all until January 15, and will need his consent to put him in any trade for a whole year. As a result, the Suns can drop the idea of acquiring Kevin Durant, who made the Suns one of the destinations he wanted to join, for at least six months.

Though Ayton hasn't been named for either the All-Star Game or any of the All-NBA Teams during his rookie contract, he has been an excellent finisher and a reliable big man defender since his second season in the league. He also played an important role in the Suns when they made it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2021.

The Suns were knocked out by the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals last season. Ayton played less than 18 minutes in the series-ending Game 7.