After signing a huge, four-year, $64 million contract to join the Lakers this past off-season, Timofey Mozgov hasn’t hasn’t had the sort of impact he or the Lakers had hoped for the first half of the 2016-17 season.
He is averaging 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game and hasn’t earned the amount of time the Lakers had anticipated as they often opt for more small ball line-ups.
Mozgov had spent the past two seasons playing in Cleveland and competing for NBA titles, even though he had a much larger role in the pursuit in the 2014-15 season than last season as he fell out of the rotation.
Mozgov wanted to stay in Cleveland but couldn’t pass up the Lakers offer.
He admitted he missed the experience he had playing for Cleveland to Euro Hoops over the weekend.
“To be honest I miss that place,” Mozgov said. “Everything was special.”
It is a bit of a letdown to go from a team competing for NBA titles and surrounded by great players and leaders to a team in the midst of a rebuild and youth movement that you don’t necessarily fit in to.
He is still optimistic about the Lakers ability to get it back together moving forward though as they are as healthy as they were when they started the season 11-11.
“So far we got some tough losses, but I think we’ll soon play the same as played in the beginning of the season,” Mozgov said. “Be together and enjoy the game. We’ll be good.”
Fellow former Cavaliers bench player and member of their championship team, Matthew Dellevedova is probably feeling the same after cashing in on a bigger contract with the Milwaukee Bucks this off-season.
