The Bucks waived Gustavo Ayon a few days ago for reasons unknown, but even a big man with the most basic of skill sets on not much more than a minimum salary deal won’t last on the open market for very long.
Ayon didn’t end up hitting the open market, and was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Hawks, according to multiple reports, including this one from ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst.
Milwaukee signed former Hawk Zaza Pachulia this summer, so Ayon will replace him somewhere on the depth chart of the Atlanta roster, which is a bit crowded in the front court positions.
First round draft pick Lucas Nogueira is expected to be in place, after there were questions of whether or not he would stay in Europe to continue to develop. A report from Sportando.net says that the Hawks are progressing on buyout negotiations with Nogueira’s Spanish team in order to have him immediately available to start the season.
In addition to already having Al Horford, the Hawks added Paul Millsap and Elton Brand, along with Pero Antic and the aforementioned Nogueira. And now, Ayon, who averaged 4.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game for the Bucks last season.