According to ESPN, the Phoenix Suns matched the Indiana Pacers’ four-year, $133 million offer sheet for Deandre Ayton, allowing the restrained free agent to remain in Phoenix (Friday, Manila time).

ESPN mentioned, citing Ayton’s agents, that the Suns, who had till Saturday to match the offer Indiana produced on Thursday, reacted quickly to keep the total count of one pick in the 2018 NBA draft.

The Pacers’ offer sheet was the highest in NBA history, overtaking Otto Porter Jr.’s four-year, $107 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets in 2016 — an offer that the Washington Wizards chose to match.

The agreement appears to challenge any possibility of Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant being traded to Phoenix.

Durant, a two-time NBA champion and 2014 Most Valuable Player, apparently asked to be traded on June 30, with Phoenix and Miami reportedly being his preferred destinations.

However, no early season agreement for Durant might include Ayton, who led Phoenix to the league’s best regular-season record of 64-18 last season with Chris Paul and Devin Booker.

The Suns were defeated in the Western Conference semi-finals by the Dallas Mavericks in seven games.

The Suns can’t trade Ayton until January 15, after matching the Pacers’ contract offer, and they can’t trade him for an entire year without his approval.

Ayton, 23, averaged 16.3 points and 10.5 rebounds while helping Phoenix reach the NBA Finals in 2021, and he averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds this season.