After the initial wave of signings in free agency, the NBA offseason has been stuck in a holding pattern. All Dario Saric Jersey eyes are on the Nets, as Brooklyn's front office has to decide whether it will trade Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving this summer or keep them on the roster to start the 2022-23 campaign.It seems Durant's trade request has directly impacted one player more than any other: Deandre Ayton.The Suns center, who is a restricted free agent, entered the offseason as one of the top available players The Sporting News' Stephen Noh had Ayton yet he remains unsigned even though the moratorium period has ended.Here's everything we know about Ayton's situation, including the po sible landing spots for the 23-year-old big man.MORE: on Wednesday that the conversations surrounding Durant have "slowed up some of the marketplace" for Ayton. Acquiring Ayton could impact a team's ability to pull off a Durant trade, so he has been stuck watching and waiting like the rest of the league.Further complicating matters is the fact that Durant has listed Phoenix as one of his Would Ayton be part of a Durant trade? The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that there "isn't really a one-to-one interest with the Nets and the Suns on Kelan Martin Jersey Deandre Ayton.""When you're thinking about trades Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges and draft picks I don't think that's a deal construct that we're gonna see," Charania said. "So, can Phoenix go and take Deandre Ayton and take these other players on their roster Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder can they go trade them to other teams and go get another type of elite player that they could then use with Mikal Bridges to ship to Brooklyn?"This is why this is not gonna be a proce s that's gonna play out this week."Despite all of those factors, Wojnarowski noted that Ayton is still expected to receive a significant offer at some point. that Ayton may have to "move on and do his own deal" because Durant-related conversations are unlikely to end anytime soon. Ayton waseligible to sign a five-year, $172.5 million extension before the start of the 2021-22 season, but Suns ownership believed that he didn't belong in the same tier as Luka Doncic,Trae Young and other max extension candidates from the 2018 NBA Draft cla s, . Ayton wasn't going to signfor anything le s than the maxbecause of "his performance, his potential and the marketplace," per Wojnarowski.Suns general manager James Jones in October that Phoenix was open to discu sing a three- or four-year max contract,but the two sides didn't have any "real negotiations." Ayton's agents,Bill Duffy and Nima Namakian, claimed that the Suns never offered a max deal of any kind."I mean Karl-Anthony Towns Jersey , obviously, we're disappointed that we couldn't reach an extension agreement this offseason," Jones said at the time. "Deandre is important for us. He means a lot to us and was vital in what we did and what we've done this past season." The Pacers are one of the top suitors for Ayton, according to multiple reports. Indiana is interested in giving Ayton an offer sheet, but it could also pursue sign-and-trade deals with Phoenix. Myles Turner could potentially be involved in a sign-and-trade scenario, per Windhorst.The Raptors have also been floated out as a po sible landing spot, . Toronto may not want to execute a sign-and NBA Minnesota Timberwolves Jeresy -trade deal for Ayton if it has a legitimate chance to acquire Durant.Could the Spurs swoop in and present Ayton with a max offer? They have plenty of cap space, but there has not been much reporting directly linking Ayton to San Antonio. Similar to an unrestricted free agent, a restricted free agent is able to sign an offer sheet with any team. However, the player's original team is able to retain him by matching the offer sheet.For example, former Suns center JaVale McGee was an unrestricted free agent. He chose to , and Phoenix couldn't prevent him from leaving. Ayton, on the other hand, is a restricted free agent, so the Suns could match any offer sheet and keep him on the roster. If a restricted free agent decides that he wants to join another team, then he signs an offer sheet with the team. The original team is then presented with the terms of the deal and has Ed Davis Jersey two days to match the offer sheet.If the original team matches the offer sheet, then the player stays with the original team under the terms of the offer sheet. The team making the offer must maintain enough salary cap space to acquire the player until the offer sheet is signed or the original team matches.