Timofey Mozgov agrees with the Los Angeles Lakers on a 4 year deal worth $64 million over 4 years. The contract cannot officially be signed until the end of the NBA’s moratorium period on July 7th.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical broke the news late Thursday night.
Lakers in serious talks on the framework of a four-year, $65M deal with Timofey Mozgov, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 1, 2016
Timofey Mozgov Agrees to Contract With the Los Angeles Lakers
Mozgov’s contract will take him through the end of the 2020 season.
Mozgov averaged 6.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game last season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, Mozgov saw his minutes decrease this past season after Cleveland fired head coach David Blatt in favor of Tyronn Lue and his small-ball philosophy. In the 2014-15 season he averaged 26 minutes per game in the playoffs under Blatt, compared to only 5 minutes per game during the Cavaliers championship run.
The Lakers made the center position a priority this off-season with Roy Hibbert going into free agency, engaging in talks with Mozgov immediately after the contact period began. It will be interesting to see how he fits next to Julius Randle in the front court, with Randle struggling in his ability to stretch the floor. Compared to Hibbert offensively, it looks like a slight upgrade. Among centers, Hibbert ranked 75th in real offensive plus-minus. Mozgov ranked 74th in that stat.
The Lakers will be the Mozgov’s 4th team, after spending his previous 8 seasons with the Knicks, Nuggets, and Cavaliers.
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