The Detroit Pistons have made a push to acquire forward Rudy Gay in a sign-and-trade deal with the Toronto Raptors, according to ESPN.com.
The Pistons offered the expiring contracts of Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva in an attempt to acquire Gay. Both players are expected to make $8.5 million this season and Gay currently has two years and $37 million left on his contract.
Gay averaged 19.5 points on 43 percent shooting in 33 games after a midseason trade sent him to Toronto.
The Pistons currently have more than $20 million in salary-cap space and have also aimed to acquire free agent Josh Smith as their top target. They've also pursued other potentially high-priced talent such as Andre Iguodala.
Iguodala opted out of the final year of his max deal with the Nuggets earlier this month, leaving $15.9 million on the table to become an unrestricted free agent. He said earlier this month that he needed time to absorb the impact of the team's firing of George Karl. After Denver hired longtime assistant coach Brian Shaw a couple of weeks ago, Iguodala said he had heard "nothing but good things" about Shaw from former players.
Iguodala's schedule promises to be a busy one as he's already planned to meet with six teams, including the Nuggets. He'll also meet with the New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks.
Meanwhile, the Raptors have already made one cap-clearing trade this week, shipping off Andrea Bargnani and the $23 million left on his deal to the New York Knicks with an eye toward cleaning their books following the 2013-14 season. New Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri is sending signals that he intends to tear down much of the Raptors' bloated payroll and moving Gay could be part of that plan.
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