In need of a replacement for Timofey Mozgov after he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Chris Andersen to a one-year deal. Will Andersen be a better fit than Mozgov?
After Timofey Mozgov signed a four-year, $64 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cleveland Cavaliers were in dire need of a center who can bring physicality off the bench. In turn, they signed Chris Andersen to a one-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum, according to The Vertical‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.
In order to make room for the Andersen, the Cavaliers traded center Sasha Kaun and cash to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum. The deal also created $1.33 million in trade exception for the Cavaliers.
Andersen, a former teammate of LeBron James in Miami, appeared in 20 games last season with the Memphis Grizzlies, averaging 4.6 points, and 4.5 rebounds per game.
During his 14-year career, Andersen has primarily been used as a reliable rim protector who does most of his damage off the bench. In 683 career games, “Birdman” has cracked the starting lineup just 45 times, averaging 17.8 minutes per game in his career.
The 38-year-old will play a similar role to what Mozgov did with the Cavaliers for the last two seasons, a big man who has the ability to protect the paint in short spurts off the bench. Although his role diminished as the 2015-16 campaign progressed, Mozgov started 48 games and averaged 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game last season.
At quick glance, it seems as if Mozgov was the more productive player last season, as he averaged more points and grabbed as many rebounds as Andersen in nearly the same amount of minutes; however, these stats will not accurately represent Andersen’s role with the Cavaliers moving forward.
It is not a secret that the Cavaliers can put the ball in the basket, as they scored 104.3 points per game last season, which was good enough for eighth in the association. Knowing this, Andersen will not be asked to score the ball, something he doesn’t do as well as Mozgov.
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Instead, Andersen will be asked to clog the lane and contest shots, which he has excelled at throughout his career. Last season alone, Birdman averaged 1.9 blocks per 100 possessions, which may be a slight step back from Mozgov’s 2.2, but he did average 1.7 steals per 100 possessions, which puts him comfortably ahead of Mozgov, who averaged 0.9.
Although it seems like it is picking hairs, Mozgov took a big step back from what he was able to do during his first season with the Cavaliers. In 46 games with Cleveland during the 2014-15 campaign, Mozgov played an important role on a nightly basis, becoming reliable both on offense and defense. Despite his success early on with the Cavaliers, he lost all confidence and made himself virtually unplayable; the big man appeared in 11 of the team’s 21 playoff games last season.
Andersen, on the other hand, has provided a consistency during his career that simply tops Mozgov. Head coach Tyronn Lue now has a guy he can trust on a nightly basis, a luxury he did not have with Mozgov.
Overall, Andersen will provide a toughness off the Cavaliers bench that Mozgov did not bring every night. He will also be doing so at a lower cost, which is always an added benefit.
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Although Timofey Mozgov may have provided more offense than Chris Andersen can offer, the Cavaliers will be well off with Andersen’s lower contract and consistency on defense.