NBA Rumors: Cleveland Cavaliers to Trade Timofey Mozgov? LeBron James, Kyrie Irving Lose Center

By Mitch de Leon
Timofey Mozgov
Mozgov's size makes him a rim protection specialist. AP

The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the season with a slew of injuries. Initially, fans of the LeBron James squad feared that their dreams of snagging the title from the Golden State Warriors might not come to fruition. In the beginning, Iman Shumpert and Kyrie Irving were still down from their injuries. As for Kevin Love, the former Minnesota Timberwolves star has yet to resolve issues involving his chemistry with King James.

As the NBA season progressed, though, the Cleveland Cavaliers proved to be the powerful contenders they promised to become. In fact, the James squad now dominates the Eastern Conference despite the resurgence of Derrick Rose's Chicago Bulls, Dwyane Wade's Miami Heat, Kyle Lowry's Toronto Raptors and Al Harford's Atlanta Hawks. Moreover, the return of Shumpert and Irving into the squad revitalized their defenses. The gradual growth of the chemistry between James and Love also strengthened the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. However, the re-entry of Tristan Thompson in the starting lineup appeared to have brought substantial changes to the team.

With Thompson as the center, though, David Blatt made the decision to bench Timofey Mozgov. Since then, the Russian star has been getting lesser minutes on the hardwood court. The reduced playing time now prompts fans of the team to speculate on the future of the 7'1" center. In fact, reports are surfacing that other NBA teams are already inquiring about the availability of the player.

"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," disclosed Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports. The sports analyst added, "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."

Spears pointed out that the center might opt out of returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers next season. He further shared that other NBA teams might be interested in shelling out more lucrative long-term deals for the former Denver Nuggets star. Nonetheless, the King James squad owns the Bird Rights of Mozgov, which might see him alongside Irving and Love once again.

However, Matt Moore of CBS Sports noted that the trade market might prove to be a challenging one to navigate for the Russian star. According to the sports analyst, only a few teams are open to acquiring new stars. These include the Houston Rockets, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Phoenix Suns. Unfortunately for Mozgov, none of these NBA teams are interested in a rim protector at the moment.

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