San Antonio Spurs: Pursuit Of Gustavo Ayon Not Done
By Phil Watson
So maybe those reports about free agent big man Gustavo Ayon opting to sign with Real Madrid in Spain over taking a minimum NBA offer were premature.
Last week, SoloBasket.com reported (warning, not exactly English) that Ayon had agreed to a three-year deal with Real Madrid.
However, there are reports that the San Antonio Spurs are still interested in adding the three-year NBA veteran who played for Mexico at the just-completed FIBA World Cup in Spain.
According to EuroHoops.net, via Twitter:
The @Spurs are looking at the case of Gustavo Ayon. Nothing serious yet, but it complicates things more on his possible signing with Madrid
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) September 14, 2014
Adding to the intrigue—Ayon hasn’t actually signed anything with Real Madrid yet.
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Ayon was limited to 26 games with the Atlanta Hawks last season because of a shoulder injury that required surgery, but the 6-foot-10, 250-pounder was effective enough in his limited playing time.
He averaged 4.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and one steal in 16.5 minutes per game, shooting .510/—/.400.
He’s already had four stops in his three-year NBA career, playing with the then-New Orleans Hornets in 2011-12 and splitting 2012-13 between the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks.
Ayon has been part of a couple of trades for relatively high-profile players—New Orleans dealt him straight up for Ryan Anderson in June 2012 and he was part of the package the Magic sent to the Bucks when Milwaukee rented J.J. Redick for seven weeks and a four-game sweep.
Ayon averaged 17.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 1.4 assists and one block in 32.2 minutes per game in the five games he played during the FIBA World Cup (he sat out Mexico’s group stage finale against Korea).
Showing he had NBA ability, Ayon’s best game of the tournament was his 25-points, eight-rebound performance against Team USA in the round of 16, when he was 11-for-19 from the floor.
Ayon would be a solid depth piece for the Spurs and, at worst, could replace Aron Baynes as an extra big man in the back end of the rotation.
The 29-year-old played professionally in Mexico, Spain and Venezuela (briefly) before coming to the NBA in 2011 and was named MVP of the 2013 FIBA Tournament of the Americas, when he led Mexico to the title over Puerto Rico.
That came after he scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in an upset of Argentina in the semifinals.
Given that the Spurs are already the NBA’s own IHOB (International House of Basketball), the addition of Ayon would make sense and San Antonio has an ace in the hole.
Unlike most of the teams that expressed interest in Ayon, the Spurs have their full mid-level exception to offer Ayon , a little more than $5.3 million for the first year.
That would give him more than 10 times as many reasons to remain in the NBA and not go to Real Madrid as would an offer for the $507,336 NBA minimum salary.