MINNEAPOLIS: Timofey Mozgov had a tough week. First his name surfaced in trade rumors, then he had an overzealous male fan reach over and grab his rear end late in Friday’s win at the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It seems everyone wants a piece of Mozgov these days.
Mozgov has struggled badly this season, and regardless of how many times Cavaliers coach David Blatt says Mozgov is close to turning a corner, that’s not really the case. Sure, he has shown glimpses such as a brief stretch late last month when he flashed the defensive presence that helped turn around the Cavs’ defense last season. But he hasn’t been the same dominant paint player.
As a result, he’s lost his starting job and Yahoo reported in recent days that teams are calling and asking about his availability. That’s fine. Teams can call and ask, but the Cavs don’t have any inclination right now to move him despite his struggles.
Mozgov is earning about $5 million this season, a relative bargain compared to some of the other salaries on this team. And although moving him could save between $15 and $20 million in tax penalties, owner Dan Gilbert has already proved he’s comfortable with the payroll where it is when he guaranteed Jared Cunningham’s contract for the rest of the season.
General Manager David Griffin surrendered two first-round picks to get Mozgov out of Denver last season. He won’t get that type of return back even if he wanted to deal him now. Besides, the Cavs have pushed all in on this season. If Mozgov can help them win even one playoff game, it’ll be worth keeping him around.
The only reasonable excuses to trade him would be to unload money or to go the opposite direction and secure an asset to pair with their $10.5 million trade exception. Right now, the Cavs have little value to attach to it that would attract other teams. Trading Mozgov might bring the asset necessary to go get another center, but who?
Omer Asik? He fits into the trade exception and is under contract through 2020 (Mozgov is a free agent after the season), but he isn’t much of an upgrade over Mozgov and he costs twice as much.
And to be clear, the Cavs aren’t interested in Asik. He’s merely an example of another center who would fit into the trade exception. There isn’t much else out there right now in trade.
Saturday is the first anniversary of the first game Mozgov played for the Cavs. In that time, they are 59-21 — a .738 winning percentage. The roster needed a midseason renovation last year, but not now.
As for the anxious fan Friday night, Mozgov was inbounding the ball from the sideline when he felt something on his back side, but he wasn’t exactly sure what happened until a reporter showed him the video in the locker room. A fan, perhaps on a dare, reached over from the second row and goosed him.
“I looked at this dude. He smiled,” Mozgov said. “Like, I don’t know why he touched me. But the game was going on so I’ve got to throw it out and keep running the game, right?”
Turns out, Mozgov had the wrong guy. After watching the video, he realized it wasn’t the man he thought did it sitting in the front row.
“This is the first time they’ve touched me,” he said. “They always like your hands, high five, hug, taking pictures. But not like that.”
Everybody wants a piece of Mozgov, but the courtside fan got more of him than opposing teams will.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.