22-year-old Ciffino: From the edge of the lottery to the NBA s door gradually closed

This point guard, who was only 22 years old and was selected by the Lakers in the first round of 17th in 2023, is experiencing an extremely rare cruel reality in the NBA - the free market has been opened for two months, and no team has given him an olive branch, no two-way contract, no training camp invitation, or even no rumors. He was quietly forgotten by the league.

Looking back at the 2023 draft, Ciffino was still highly expected when he was selected by the Lakers. At that time, the scouts reported praised him for being 1.98 meters tall, excellent arm-span, outstanding defensive potential, and the template was even set as Deron Williams. The Lakers management is optimistic about his organization and defensive ability as a tall point guard and believes it is a "safety card".

But the nightmare began in the preseason. In 4 preseason games, Sifino delivered a disaster performance of 16% shooting percentage and 0 of 9 three-pointers. The regular season was even more terrible: averaged 1.6 points per game, shooting percentage of 22.2%, and three-pointers 13.3%. In comparison, George, 16th pick, Hax, 18th pick, and Pojemsky, 19th pick, have all made a fortune, but he has become a "reverse draft textbook."

Last season, the Lakers gave him a lot of preseason opportunities, but he averaged only 4.5 points per game in six games, shot 28.6%, three-pointers and 10%, and made frequent turnovers. In a game where the main players are off and specialize in training new players, he made 6 mistakes in 32 minutes of starting. The Lakers quickly announced that they would not implement their third-year team option - a Lotto Fringe rookie was abandoned in the second year, which is extremely rare in NBA history. After

was traded to the Jazz, the rebuilt Jazz cut him without hesitation. The 76ers used a two-way contract to sign, giving him a lot of opportunities: averaged 23 minutes per game, but the data was only 7.8 points + 37.1% shooting percentage. In this summer league, he graduated from 0 and 6 fouls against the Spurs, with a plus-minus value of -19 by draft media as: "Everyone knows at a glance that he is a parallel person and never looks like he can play in the NBA."

From a technical perspective, Ciffino's actual height has shrunk to 1.93 meters, his shooting mechanism is stiff, his offensive efficiency is at the bottom for a long time, and his defense has not met expectations. What's even more fatal is that he always lacks NBA-level explosive power or basketball IQ, and even the performance of the Development League is unconvincing.

The Lakers chose Shifino instead of subsequent players such as Whitmore and Pojemsky, which has become a classic case of mistakes in the draft in recent years. And now, the silence of the free market may be the most real evaluation of his career - even the rebuilding team is unwilling to scrape this "thank you for patronizing" lottery.

He is only 22 years old, but the NBA's door seems to have been closed.

Unless a miracle happens, the name of Ciffino will only be remembered in a "historical parallel".