Rumor: Timofey Mozgov a Trade Target

The Cleveland Cavaliers have moved Timofey Mozgov to the bench. Now, rumor has it, teams are calling to see if they are willing to move him in a trade.

When the Cavs acquired Mozgov last year he was the toast of the town. A big man who could anchor the defense, clog the lane, move his feet and finish at the rim. LeBron James was taken back at how big Mozgov was and reported it gave him a little pick me up.

This season, after off-season knee surgery, Timo looks lost. He is slow in rotation, isn’t blocking or altering shots and is finishing weakly around the rim. Most hoped that this was all due to his recovery from the knee surgery, but he has not shown any signs of bouncing back.

In fact, Mozgov’s confidence level seems lower than ever. For a player that plays with emotion, he isn’t quite certain of himself at this point. Instead he is tentative, looks to be afraid to make mistakes and is not impacting the game.

While these are all concerns for the Cavs, it has led other teams to make calls to see if he is available via trade, according to Marc Spears:

"As center Timofey Mozgov recently has gone from a prominent starting role to a reserve with the Cleveland Cavaliers, several NBA teams are starting to inquire about his availability via trade, league sources told Yahoo Sports.While the Cavaliers have expressed no interest in moving Mozgov, the 7-foot-1 center’s loss of his starting job, the franchise’s NBA-high payroll and his looming free agency could ultimately persuade Cleveland to make a deal. The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 18."

It is not surprising that Mozgov has drawn interest from other teams. There are very few people walking the earth with his size and proven, at least last year, ability to play basketball. A change of scenery did Timo good last year, and could do nothing but improve his mental makeup at this point.

Whether a team can convince the Cavs to part with Mozgov is another story. Spears mentions their huge payroll and his pending free agency. With his struggles this season apparent, he is still likely to cash in after this year. The Cavs are unlikely to be willing to fork over what he will demand.

Yet, the Cavs are built for this season. Their goal is to win now and Timo gives them a high-quality center, capable of starting for most teams, coming off the bench. To make a deal with the Cavs, a team is likely to have to offer up a good package. A young player plus a pick, that the Cavs could then move, or in a 3 team deal, might be able to get it done.

More from King James Gospel

The Suns, with Markieff Morris, could be a part of that discussion but Morris would not likely be enough to entice the Cavs.

If Cleveland moves Mozgov, and doesn’t get another center in return, they still have Anderson Varejao and Sasha Kaun as backups. Neither has played much this season and the team has real concern if they had to rely on either come Playoff time.

For the year, Mozgov is averaging 6.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game while playing just under 18 minutes a game. That is a big drop off from almost 26 minutes a game last year while averaging 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.

Rumor has teams are interested in Timofey Mozgov, can they offer enough to get him from the Cavs?