Farewell, Timofey Mozgov

Sir John said:

Is that really so bad for two heavily protected first rounders that may or may not convey or develop?

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Can we stop with the "heavily protected" line already?

The OKC pick is likely to convey next year as a mid-late 1st rounder.

The MEM pick is fairly heavily protected for the next two drafts and top 5 protected for the next two. The protection is why the Cavs wanted the pick. Realistically when that pick is actually conveyed it will be late lottery.

Now sure, that's a long way in the future, but so was the Cavs 1982 first rounder that they dealt in early 1980. That turned into #1 overall and James Worthy.

So yes, a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow, but acting like the dollar tomorrow is worthless is very short sighted.

It's hindsight, but I think it's a fair question - With the assets the Cavaliers had at the end of the 2013-14 season and the knowledge that LeBron was coming back, could those assets have been deployed in a way that would have created a stronger TEAM (not a collection of talented players) and provided the Cavs with more roster and salary flexibility going forward?

Personally, I think the answer is yes.

westsidebob said:

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It's hindsight, but I think it's a fair question - With the assets the Cavaliers had at the end of the 2013-14 season and the knowledge that LeBron was coming back, could those assets have been deployed in a way that would have created a stronger TEAM (not a collection of talented players) and provided the Cavs with more roster and salary flexibility going forward?
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Problem is, no one knew this. It's not a factual representation of what went down and part of making room for LeBron to even have the space to choose to sign here was getting rid of some of those accumulated assets.

westsidebob said:

Can we stop with the "heavily protected" line already?

The OKC pick is likely to convey next year as a mid-late 1st rounder.

The MEM pick is fairly heavily protected for the next two drafts and top 5 protected for the next two. The protection is why the Cavs wanted the pick. Realistically when that pick is actually conveyed it will be late lottery.

Now sure, that's a long way in the future, but so was the Cavs 1982 first rounder that they dealt in early 1980. That turned into #1 overall and James Worthy.

So yes, a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow, but acting like the dollar tomorrow is worthless is very short sighted.

It's hindsight, but I think it's a fair question - With the assets the Cavaliers had at the end of the 2013-14 season and the knowledge that LeBron was coming back, could those assets have been deployed in a way that would have created a stronger TEAM (not a collection of talented players) and provided the Cavs with more roster and salary flexibility going forward?

Personally, I think the answer is yes.

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Not sure. The problem is once we got LeBron, other teams were going to be asking for more back in any trade because they were helping a title contender - or at least a team that was setting itself up to be one. Those teams pay more.

We've also seen teams being willing to sell late first round picks in the past for a variety of reasons.

I would be shocked if one of them turned into the #1 pick. If it did, it depends on our results. If Mozgov contributes to the Cavs winning a championship, few would complain. We're so starved for one from any one of our teams.

If OKC improves, as expected, then that pick will probably be in the 20s. Time will tell. Right now the Cavs get a present asset for future promise. If they hold onto Mozgov long term and he proves a vital cog in the paint for a handful of years, I think a strong argument could be made for the trade.

My question is - why did it have to go down like that?

Griffin gets word through the back door - "Clear room for a max contract"

At that point, the question was - why?

Just because LBJ announced he wanted to play in Cleveland didn't mean that the Cavs needed room that day. They could have cleared room later, they could have done a sign-and-trade. The point is, they had other options.

They were under the cap before all the moves. They could've signed another free agent to bring them up to the cap and would have only had to offload 66% of LBJ's contract (the 150% rule). Hell, they could've done a double sign and trade with Deng and offloaded less salary.

They might have been able to keep Karasev, Zeller and maybe even someone like Jack and some of their picks, which would have given them more ammunition to negotiate with Minny or perhaps another team for a different type of player.

If James insisted on a straight out signing and put the gun to their head by leaking Love to the media, he screwed them, plain and simple. At that point, it just became a scramble to find any parts that fit at any cost.

The Heat said they weren't doing a sign and trade so remove that from the list. Now if you wait until he commits the price to dump salary probably goes up even more, more first rounders.

We ended up with it working out, look at Houston they traded Asik, lost Parsons and I believe cleared more space when they thought they were getting Bosh. They ended up with Ariza who is a pretty good fit but not at Bosh's level.

@Warren G.

We started this a long time ago...

I voted this trade a C-grade. I think its an average deal. We paid - probably too much - for a solid, but not great player. That said, we did get a player that should fit pretty damn well with this team. Someone posted it before and I agree: I give Griffin a lot of credit for going out and getting the guys he wants, regardless of whether he "wins" the trade.

The only part that concerns me is that I thought we'd be able to get a lot more than Mozgov for a package of Haywood + MEM pick this summer. I probably would've preferred Wright for the TPE + OKC pick at this time.

That said, I'm now very excited about this team, and I think we should be a lot better than we were a week ago.

I probably could have talked myself into Dion + Memphis for Mozgov. Throw in Shump and Smith and a 2nd and I think it is a clear win.

jason436 said:

The Heat said they weren't doing a sign and trade so remove that from the list. Now if you wait until he commits the price to dump salary probably goes up even more, more first rounders.

We ended up with it working out, look at Houston they traded Asik, lost Parsons and I believe cleared more space when they thought they were getting Bosh. They ended up with Ariza who is a pretty good fit but not at Bosh's level.

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And the Cavs said they weren't going to do one either.

When you break it all down, to dump all the salaries they've needed to dump, they gave up a first and 4 2's. That netted them LBJ and Brendan Haywood when it's all said and done.

Gee and Felix's non guaranteed's plus what Deng signed for x 150% matches LBJs max almost to the penny.

Even if you give Miami 4, hell 5 1's, you're down 3-4 1's, but keep 4 2's, Jack, Karasev, Zeller and can STILL trade Hopson for Haywood and Powell.

You can still do the Minny trade, who knows, it might have been easier to find another team to help facilitate with some of those other players or second round picks.

I'm just saying the series of moves felt disjointed and made in a rush, which they were. They're paying for that speed now.

Insider Kevin Pelton, FWIW...

Here's a breakdown of the trade between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets.

Cavaliers get: center Timofey Mozgov
Nuggets get: 2015 Memphis first-round pick (protected 1-5 and 15-30), 2015 Oklahoma City first-round pick (top-18 protected)




Cleveland Cavaliers: B+

With their second trade of the week, the Cavaliers have cashed in all their trade chips for this season in an effort to fill the biggest holes that have held them back in the first season of LeBron James' return to Cleveland. Monday's three-team trade with the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder brought the Cavaliers a wing defender (Iman Shumpert), as well as a first-round pick that Cleveland almost immediately flipped as part of this deal to land a rim protector (Mozgov).


Just as with Shumpert, Mozgov is an obvious fit for the Cavaliers' needs since they signed James and traded for Kevin Love. Cleveland has apparently been trying to pry Mozgov away from Denver for that long, a process that took on added urgency with Anderson Varejao's season-ending Achilles injury. Hence the Cavaliers' willingness to surrender two first-round picks for Mozgov; a high price, but one they were right to pay.


Unfortunately, Cleveland doesn't have much time for patience. Love's free agency this summer creates tremendous pressure to win immediately, as does James' advancing age. The Cavaliers couldn't afford to wait to fill their need for a 7-footer until next summer, when they'll have the ability to add salary using Brendan Haywood's nonguaranteed contract. Cleveland had to make a move now, and Mozgov was an ideal fit.


Mozgov isn't an elite rim protector, but he's solidly above average in this regard. This season, opponents were shooting 48.6 percent within 5 feet of the basket with Mozgov as the closest defender, per SportVU tracking available on NBA.com/Stats. Last season, Mozgov rated even better at 47.1 percent, ahead of other possible Cavaliers targets like Kosta Koufos (47.6 percent) and Samuel Dalembert (52.0 percent). (Koufos has the edge this season, at 44.9 percent.)


[+] Enlarge
Jason Miller/Getty ImagesKevin Love hasn't been getting it done as an interior defender, a strength of Timofey Mozgov.

By contrast, current Cleveland big men Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love have allowed 51.1 and 59.9 percent shooting around the basket, respectively, and as a team the Cavaliers are allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 56.5 percent when defended within 5 feet, also according to SportVU data.


At the other end, Mozgov is relatively skilled for a 7-footer. While he hasn't been as effective offensively this season as last season -- his true shooting percentage is down to .554 this season from an excellent .584 last season -- while using plays at nearly a league-average rate, Mozgov is a fine pick-and-roll player who can finish around the rim. He's also a threat on the offensive glass. The Cavaliers won't likely ask much of Mozgov offensively, and would be wise to limit his less-efficient post touches, but he can keep defenders honest. And if anyone knows how to use Mozgov, it's Cleveland coach David Blatt, who coached him with the Russian national team at international competitions, including the 2012 Olympics.


This is an important moment for Blatt. I suspect that part of the Cavaliers' urgency to make these deals a month in advance of the trade deadline was a chance to see this squad in action well ahead of the playoffs. Once James is healthy, the Cleveland front office will have addressed many of the justifications for why the team had underachieved this season. If the Cavaliers continue to struggle, it will be on the coach, and other than signing buyout candidates or a free agent like Ray Allen, a coaching change is the last move the organization can make to shake things up before next summer.


On paper, this now looks like a fully realized Cleveland team with a 7-footer to pair with Thompson and Love, and a deeper wing rotation with Shumpert to handle the toughest perimeter matchups. We'll see whether that's good enough.

He gave the Nuggets an A+, mostly because the dealt from a position of depth with Nurkic playing well. Felt they maximized the return for Timmy.

Sure could have used him tonight...

By contrast, current Cleveland big men Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love have allowed 51.1 and 59.9 percent shooting around the basket, respectively, and as a team the Cavaliers are allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 56.5 percent when defended within 5 feet, also according to SportVU data.

Holy crap!

Timofey's middle name is Pavlovich...

Timofey "Sasha" Pavlovich Mozgov

cavsfever said:

By contrast, current Cleveland big men Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love have allowed 51.1 and 59.9 percent shooting around the basket, respectively, and as a team the Cavaliers are allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 56.5 percent when defended within 5 feet, also according to SportVU data.

Holy crap!

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That's so unbelievably bad I don't even know what to say anymore.
That's just flat out ridiculous. Hopefully Mozgov can somehow fix this.

after seeing the game tonight, i'd gladly offer them a 3rd if they wanted to.

in games like this, a 7 footer like Timo would make it impossible for dwight to own the paint like that.