Report: Suns star Deandre Ayton's 'most realistic landing spots' include Hawks, Pistons, Raptors

One of the more intriguing restricted free agents on the NBA market this offseason will be Deandre Ayton. The Phoenix Suns center is still just 23 years old, has plenty of playoff — and even championship series — experience, and is a walking double-double.

Ayton's free agency has already generated countless headlines and which city he next calls home — if he leaves Phoenix — seems to be anybody's guess. Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer had an update on Thursday and offered a few specific teams that could be the next to employ the former first-team All-Rookie.

"Ayton's most realistic landing spots outside of Phoenix appear to be Atlanta, Detroit and Toronto, which all would present intriguing sign-and-trade opportunities for the Suns," Fischer wrote. "League personnel have also whispered in recent days about a potential sign-and-trade of Ayton to Indiana for Myles Turner. Turner and Ayton share the same representation."

The 2018 first-overall pick, Ayton registered 17.2 points in 2021-2022, but also career lows in rebounds (10.2), assists (1.4), blocks (0.7) and minutes per game (29.5) across 58 contests. On the flip side, Ayton's 63.4% field goal percentage this past season was a career-best mark.

The Hawks and Pistons both have talented, young guards in Trae Young and Cade Cunningham, respectively, both of whom would make for a dangerous pairing with Ayton. The Raptors have Fred VanVleet, who is 28 years old and coming off of his first All-Star season.