Detroit targeting Deandre Ayton in free agency

After the trade, the Pistons have roughly $43 million at their disposal. Per sources, Detroit is heavily expected to pursue Phoenix Suns big man and 2018 No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton in the open market. The Pistons may also look to the trade block to make use of that cap space if Ayton stays put in Phoenix or lands elsewhere.
Source: James L. Edwards III @ The Athletic

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Mark Deeks @MarkDeeksNBA
Jaden Ivey
Cade Cunningham
Deandre Ayton
Saddiq Bey
Hamidou Diallo
Saben Lee
Isaiah Stewart
Killian Hayes (it may increasingly be a one-man fan club but dammit we’re still open for business)
+ a few extras TBD
….OK, I’m listening. – 6:50 PM

David Hardisty @clutchfans
The Pistons getting Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and DeAndre Ayton together would be pretty interesting. Sacramento really should be shopping that 4th pick hard if they’re not taking Ivey. – 6:49 PM

Eric Koreen @ekoreen
Gotta think the Pistons are gonna take a run at one of the big three restricted guys: Ayton, Bridges or Brunson – 6:31 PM

Dave Early @DavidEarly
Lot changed since Mar. (Ayton, etc. ) but had @Jake Fischer on pod & he predicted we could be talking more about #Pistons than people expect w/ a possible Jerami Grant deal kicking things off. Mentioned them as potential Jalen Brunson suitors too.
https://t.co/1NoqJ8adWu pic.twitter.com/Djcvgl1Xyl – 6:22 PM

Tommy Beer @TommyBeer
The Pistons now looking at over $55 million in cap space this summer… so the winner of the Portland-Detroit trade may be DeAndre Ayton and/or Miles Brides – as the Pistons can now an extend max offer sheets – 6:16 PM

Ky Carlin @Ky_Carlin
I feel like the Pistons are positioning themselves for free agency. I wonder if they have DeAndre Ayton in their sights. – 6:16 PM

Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
Maybe the Pistons have some very specific plans for the cap space they just created? That’s the only explanation I can think of for the Grant deal. Maybe they’re hoping this knocks Portland out of the Ayton race? – 6:08 PM

Dave Mason @DeuceMason
Pistons must be aiming for Ayton by clearing all this room. LETS GET WILD. – 6:04 PM

Chris Herrington @ChrisHerrington
If they’re sending out Grant without taking back salary could set up an Ayton offer sheet? – 6:00 PM

Ric Bucher @RicBucher
What’s next for Warriors’ core, Kyrie Irving, Deandre Ayton and others foxsports.com/stories/nba/wh… – 3:57 PM

Micah Adams @MicahAdams13
Starting centers on NBA champs
Kevon Looney: $5.2M
Brook Lopez: $12.7M
Dwight Howard: $2.6M
Marc Gasol: $24.1M
JaVale McGee: $1.5M
Tristan Thompson: $14.3M
Andrew Bogut: $12.9M
Tiago Splitter: $10.0M
Avg salary: $9.3M
Keep that in mind when chatting Ayton max or Gobert trade. – 11:22 AM

Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
Bourguet Breakdown, Part 2: Self-creation is the next, necessary step in Deandre Ayton’s evolution toward max player – https://t.co/w4RzuU1LlY via @PHNX_Suns pic.twitter.com/3tSw1mwj2Z – 9:02 PM

More on this storyline

Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic shared to Twitter on Monday an updated list of celebrity participants at Phoenix Suns center JaVale McGee’s upcoming charity softball game. Several of McGee’s teammates are slated to attend, including Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Payne, Cameron Johnson, Landry Shamet, Torrey Craig, and Ish Wainwright. Suns GM James Jones is also on the list of participants. One prominent figure missing from the list though is Ayton. At such a Suns-heavy event, his absence here feels very loud (and potentially serves as a hint that he plans to leave the team). -via Larry Brown Sports / June 21, 2022

Duane Rankin: Updated. Cameron Payne for Deandre Ayton. Payne is one of the confirmed participants for JaVale McGee’s Juglife Foundation Water of Life Charity Softball Game as is Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges. -via Twitter @DuaneRankin / June 21, 2022

Suns commentator Eddie Johnson spoke with PHNX_Suns about Ayton, who is a restricted free agent. “He can’t escape the Suns if they don’t want him to,” Johnson said. “That has to be laid out there. I think some people out there are saying, ‘Oh, he’s going to leave and they’re going to lose him.’ No, they don’t have to lose him. He signs an offer sheet from somebody else, they can match the offer sheet.” The Suns can not only match any offer, but pay him more than anyone else with a max deal of five years, $177 million. “For Ayton right now, it’s really up to him and what he’s willing to accept,” Johnson added. -via Arizona Republic / June 18, 2022