Deandre Ayton’s future has been a matter of great speculation ever since it became clear that the Phoenix Suns are unlikely to offer him a max extension. The center’s stock in Phoenix has fallen even further since, especially after his heated interaction with Head Coach Monty Williams, who isn’t Ayton’s biggest fan, on the sidelines during the Suns’ embarrassing loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
At just 23 years of age, and with the ability to be very effective on both ends of the court, there will be several suitors for Ayton’s services, and he has been linked to several teams like the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers to name a couple. The Pistons emerged as a potentially interested party considering their cap space. Now, further information on Ayton’s situation has come to light from The Athletic’s John Hollinger and James Edwards:
“I was skeptical until I started talking to a few more people recently. Now, I think it’s more likely than not that he’s in a new destination next season, especially if the Suns can work out a sign-and-trade that brings back some value. For whatever reason, I don’t think Phoenix is totally comfortable going forward with him on a big-money deal, and I think Ayton might be okay with going somewhere else if he can have a bigger offensive role.”
In the same article regarding Ayton, James Edwards wrote about a potential move to Detroit, reporting that the Pistons are expected to make a move for Ayton:
“One of those destinations could be Detroit, where the rebuilding Pistons enter free agency with a lot of cap space, a franchise player in Cade Cunningham and one of the league’s more obtainable and attractive trade chips in Jerami Grant. The Pistons are expected to do their due diligence and make a run at Ayton, per sources. However, the extent to which Detroit is willing to go to obtain his services is murky.”
With a potential superstar in Cade Cunningham part of Detroit’s setup and a few other interesting pieces like Saddiq Bey, landing Ayton could speed up the Pistons’ timeline to get back to playoff contention, and would also allow Ayton to be one of the main options on a team. It’s hard to tell what will happen though, considering that many teams will be trying to acquire his services.
