The Atlanta Hawks have been awarded forward/centre Gustavo Ayon on a waiver claim.
Ayon, 28, spent time with the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic during the 2012-13 season and averaged 3.7 points on .551 shooting, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 13.4 minutes in 55 games (three starts). The 6-10, 250-pounder started the season with the Orlando Magic, posting averages of 3.6 points on .536 shooting and 3.3 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game (43 games, three starts) before being traded on Feb. 21 to Milwaukee as part of a six-player trade. He increased his averages to 4.3 points on .595 shooting and 4.9 rebounds in 13.6 minutes in 12 games with the Bucks.
“Gustavo has a high-basketball IQ and is a hard-nosed player,” Ferry said. “He gives us quality depth at the power forward and center positions.”
As a rookie in 2011-12, Ayon played in 54 games (24 starts) with the New Orleans Hornets and averaged 5.9 points on .536 shooting, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 blocks and 1.0 steal in 20.1 minutes per game. He ranked in the top 10 among all NBA rookies in field goal percentage (second), rebounding (fifth), blocked shots (fifth) and steals (seventh).
“I am very excited to join the Atlanta Hawks,” Ayon said. “I had a great conversation with Coach Budenholzer and can’t wait to get to the city, meet my teammates and get to work.”
Ayon is just the third Mexican-born player in NBA history, following Horacio Llamas and Eduardo Najera. Prior to playing in the NBA, he played professionally overseas in Mexico, Venezuela and Spain.
