Rival teams are apparently calling the Cleveland Cavaliers to inquire about Timofey Mozgov’s availability.
The Cavaliers just aren’t listening.
Yet.
From ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin:
It’s make or break time for Mozgov. As Yahoo reported this week, teams around the league have been making calls about him to see if he is available.
A source with knowledge of the team’s thinking told ESPN.com that the Cavs aren’t inclined to trade Mozgov, however. They already traded away two first-round picks to acquire him last season, and they don’t feel as if there is a center available with Mozgov’s size and potential. Even though Mozgov will be a free agent this summer and could fetch a price higher than the Cavs would be willing to spend, their preference is to keep him for the rest of the season, with the hope he turns it around.
This is the smart, and safe, and obvious, play from the Cavaliers.
They invested a first-rounder in Mozgov and won’t come close to matching that value in a subsequent trade. It is more benefiting for them to retain the 7’1″ behemoth’s Bird rights and re-evaluate his importance to the team in free agency this summer, when the Cavaliers will have the ability to offer him more money than any other potential suitor.
Timofey Mozgov is earning south of $5 million anyway. Any trade that’s worthwhile to the Cavaliers would likely entail them taking back extra salary in return, albeit only slightly, increasing their already gaudy luxury-lax bill.
It makes more sense for the Cavaliers to see if Timofey Mozgov can game some momentum as the season progresses. He is only 29 years old and was one of their most valuable rim protectors in 2014-15, and they’re not going to land anyone of similar importance by cutting ties with him now.
