Timofey Mozgov Discussion: Shut Down For Season (66)

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but found this in an article regarding his performance.

When given 10-19 minutes: 5.4 points, four rebounds, 0.8 blocks, 52 percent from field (143 games played)

When given 20-29 minutes: 9.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, 55 percent from field (126 games played)

When given 30-39 minutes: 14 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 58 percent from field (31 games played)

 

It's not even top dollar dude. You're acting like it's a max. It's not and 16 million is gonna be nothing in a year hell even later during this free agency period. I'm sure Luke will devise a defensive scheme where we put Mozgov in those situations as least as possible so I don't think we'll even have to bench him all the time.

 

Interesting. Wonder if durability was an issue. Those are respectable numbers.

 

For guards, we needs guys with quick hands that are good at probing and penetration. For big men, we prefer they have soft hands and know how to finish.

 

Those aren't projections they are his career numbers when given those amounts of playing times

 

Yea I've seen enough of him, almost every game since he joined CLE, outside of his highlight videos to say that I'm not excited about a 30 year old backup, with health not on his side, that CLE didn't care to keep, that has jumped around from team to team and went undrafted. I'm not getting excited about giving him 16 million for 4 years when he has done nothing to deserve 10 for 4!

I tried to justify the Hibbert signing, this guy is not the Lakers' version of Bogut, he's a career backup that has random good games and doesn't show up in others, aka a bench player. He can't pass like Bogut and is not a heady defender like him either. He doesn't move the needle enough in wins to justify that contract. We lost cap room going forward on a backup, but hey we aren't getting anyone this year or next year so it really doesn't matter. The least the FO could have done was pump money into a young guy with potential rather than a guy going on the wrong side of 30 that is getting outdated in the league. If he was such a 16 million dollar commodity he wouldn't be team hopping. We messed up giving him 65 million and my opinion won't change on that.

 

Cleveland didn't keep Mosgov because they didn't need him and couldn't afford to keep him. We needed a big man. A starting center and Mosgov is exactly that. The guy is far from a bad player. What more do you want from a starting center? We can't get anyone else and we had to settle. Have you seen what other guys are getting? Noah, Turner, and likely Bazemore are all getting more despite not being that much better.

About Bogut yeah they're different players, but Bogut isn't near the offensive threat that Mozgov is. Yeah Bogut is better defensively, but it's not like Mozgov can't defend. We know he struggled against pick and roll, we can always switch, play small, cater our defensive scheme to where he's not on that island. He's 30 years old. He hasn't played that much basketball.

People are acting like Mozgov tore his ACL or his Achilles that didn't happen. He just didn't rehab or recover fully and that's feh Cavs fault. The Lakers will get him healthy and we'll be fine. People are just looking at this the wrong way because of the massive cap spike.

 

I guess I'm in the minority on this, but when my buddy texted me this morning and said we signed Mozgov I was stoked. Certainly not the flashiest name, but a solid player and most importantly, he fills a need for us. I've always been a fan of his. Now, I understand he lost his place in Cleveland's rotation this past year, but I think a lot of that had to do with his injury and a new coach taking over halfway through the season. I think a change of scenery with a new coach in Luke (who I feel like was the one who pushed for this signing) as well as playing with the young'uns (my nickname for our young core) will help him immensely. I think this will prove to be a smart, savvy move by Mitch.

Honestly, I think a lot of the backlash and knee-jerk reaction came from seeing his pay numbers and him not being a big name, and in the context of the old salary cap I understand why. However, in the context of this new salary cap, what he is getting paid makes much more sense. I guess the larger point I'm trying to make here is this: basically, if you want quality veterans who are consummate professionals, you'll have to pay for them. Mozgov is both of those. Besides, it's not like we had a legit shot with Durant or someone of that caliber anyway, so instead of waiting around to be rejected by the big stars and then picking from the scraps near the end of free agency, we went out and found a big man who can move, play the pick-and-roll, and defend (which we desperately needed) on the first night. I respect that.

Overall, I'm a fan of this signing. I understand why some don't like it, but I think it will prove to be a nice move before it's all said and done. It's not like we were going to contend for a title next year anyway and for this rebuild we're (finally) getting started, this is a solid pickup. We found us a starting center to go with the young'uns, he fills a need, fits the system we'll be running, and seems to be a great locker room guy who can be a good influence on our guys going forward. This Laker fan is sold.

Welcome to the Purple and Gold, Timofey.

P.S. He also has won a championship. May not have played a huge role in winning it, but it's not like it can hurt lol

 

You may be in the minority of initial reaction, but a lot of us have come back down from earth and realized this is a decent pick up for us.

 

Yeah, I guess that would be a more accurate way of saying it, but I'm glad folks seem to be coming around to this signing. Great minds think alike.

 

Stockholm Syndrome

 

Cba aside, why hasn't anybody brought up, with all the young talent we have on rookie deals... We can afford to give out this type of deal that solidifies our big man rotation. If Randle can step his game up, it'll make the signing that much better to open up things for Moz.

 

Gonna post this here again in case anyone missed it. ESPN insider Scouting Report on Mozgov from LAST season when he was healthy: