After agreeing to send Jerami Grant to the Trail Blazers, the Pistons will target Suns center Deandre Ayton in free agency, sources tell James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.
Ayton will be a restricted free agent, so Phoenix can match any offer he receives, but there’s speculation that he might be on the move because of his desire for a max contract and a reported confrontation with coach Monty Williams in the playoffs.
Detroit will head into the free agent market with roughly $43MM in cap space once the Grant trade is finalized. Edwards says the Pistons may use it to explore trade opportunities if Ayton either re-signs with the Suns or is traded elsewhere. He adds that general manager Troy Weaver won’t feel pressured to go through it all during the offseason. The organization may save some room to take on unwanted contracts and acquire draft assets.
With their obligations to Blake Griffin finally over, the Pistons have significant cap flexibility for the first time in several years, Edwards notes. They want to build an exciting, competitive team around Cade Cunningham and they hope Ayton will be part of that group.
There’s more on the Grant trade:
- The deal with Portland is the best offer the Pistons received for Grant, according to Edwards’ sources. He adds that potential trades were discussed with other teams, dating back to the deadline in February, but no formal offers provided a better return than the package of draft picks from the Blazers.
- Trading their starting power forward may indicate that the Pistons are focused on Keegan Murray with the fifth pick in Thursday’s draft, but Edwards cautions that it’s not a foregone conclusion. Jaden Ivey will also be considered if he’s available, along with Bennedict Mathurin. Edwards also points out that Isaiah Stewart or Saddiq Bey could replace Grant, allowing the team to concentrate on other positions in the draft. Edwards suggests that, with the help of their newfound cap space, the Pistons might try to acquire a pick late in the lottery if a big man like Jalen Duren is still available.
- Damian Lillard‘s agent, Aaron Goodwin, endorsed the trade, tweets Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. He said it shows “the Blazers are competing.”
- Zach Harper of The Athletic gives the Trail Blazers a B and the Pistons a C-plus in his grades for the deal. He notes that Grant was extremely productive during his two seasons in Detroit and provides Portland with a path toward quickly returning to contender status. Harper adds that the trade makes sense for the Pistons’ rebuilding effort, although it’s a long time to wait for Milwaukee’s first-round pick in 2025.
Pistons don’t need a center who can score, they need one who will play tough defense and grind out boards, somone who can bring back the pistons mentality that made them popular and great, they have Cade, bey and other young guys plus this draft to pickup scorers. They should look for a true tough center id think Kendrick Perkins is a great option. Only 37 and still in pretty good shape can come and provide much needed defensive help
I heard Hakeem still has some post moves, why sign Perk when you can go for the Dream? Go big or go home
Good news for Grant— the team he is going to did not give up anything to get him.
Cronin benefitted from making a firm offer, even if it looked to be on the light side at the time.
Grant does not have to be Pistons Grant. He could be Thunder Grant, and still be a good add.
Why would detroit look for someone like Ayton? How does he fit? A couple of those potential picks are essentially what I was referring to in the trade article. I think adding the defensive 4 is the play over the combo guard/wing shooter b/c I still think they can find that shooter elsewhere, plus Cade gives them flexibility with his versatility
It’s about value. You collect the assets then you trade them for stars
@formerly
Why not Ayton. Yes, he doesn’t shoot 3s and isn’t a defensive wizard but he’s still a very good player with room to blossom into an allstar center.
Ayton is good PnR partner for Cade and Killian, surround them with shooters like Bey at the 4 and our draft pick #5 and still have money for FA.
It is also good fit contract wise because we won’t have to pay Cade until year this is up I believe. 4 year max is what we can offer him.
He could be a solid number 2 option if you have good number 3 and 4 options behind them, and our draft pick and Bey are good options, or should be. I can get on board.
Do u understand how great Ayton can be? If u don’t watch ball alot & just look at his #s they are deceiving. Phx Suns negatively impacted Aytons stats. Padding them in a neg direction.
Dude is legit 25 & 15 guy… phx went as far to play 3x Centers..
Ayton is most dominant low post threat in the gm & is just 23.
But why Det wants him is pick n pop w Cade.
Ayton mid range jumper is $$.
Also you can throw it to him on block & he will get 2x team or dominate 1 on 1.
Defensively & as Rebounder, Ayton is Elite
He will Anchor Det Def.
His #s in phx are a fraction of what they will be as a focal point.
In phx, he would be asked to set picks play Def & reb & d book would put up 30shots a night.
Or Cp 3 would just orchestrate pnr every play to pad his ast.
When Ayton wasn’t involved on offense he would not play as good as Def at times. When motivated & involved offensively.. look out.
25 & 15 avgs.
No joke.
You think you’re the only one that is serious or watching games? Anybody gets more stats if they’re a focal point. But does a team win doing that.
Suns won games and you say they did not feature Ayton. Maybe they don’t if they did.
No team really features the postups anymore. Started in the 90s in college IMO.
Ayton fits the timeline, as he’s young enough to fit in the rebuild. But I wish they at least try to go after Lavine. They need a dynamic/athletic shooting guard, especially if they’re planning to draft Keegan. Bridges could be another option. If they give him a max deal, would Charlotte match it?
The kings get crap all the time for taking Bagley over Doncic (rightfully so).
But if the suns lose Ayton after only 4 years, why aren’t they being talked about on skipping Doncic?
Ayton isn’t the reason for the suns success the last two year, that is Chris Paul and the culture shift he brought to Phoenix.
It’s a meh deal but at the same time Detroit gained a 1st round pick and other assets for a guy that only cost them money to get in the first place. I won’t complain.
Look to OKC to try making a push with Detroit over moving up to get 5. They have a future Detroit 1st that likely won’t convey next year as I believe it is still top 16 protected.
On the free agency side of things I know everyone clamors over the idea of Ayton but honestly Mo Bamba to me represents more what Detroit needs at center. He is RFA but with them likely adding another big I just don’t know if they want to put the money into him and have that awful Isaak deal on the books at the same time. I also like Miles Bridges but I think any offer he is given will be matched. Victor Olapido is someone I’d like to see in Detroit on a short deal.
Other roster guys I could see getting moved around are Olynyk and Joseph. Teams like Philly should be searching for guys like this via trade as they’re vEts who won’t burn your 2nd unit and are healthy rotation pieces but maybe not starters.