Looking Ahead for Cleveland

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Timofey Mozgov

The score was 132-98 and it seemed that all hell was about to break loose in the city of Cleveland. The Cavaliers fell victims to being embarrassed by the Warriors at home and now have some serious questions about themselves going forward when it comes to who besides LeBron James and company is going to help lead this team to the promised land.

LeBron had some wise words for his teammates in regardless to the blowout loss,

“I’m not going to put too much into it,” James said. There’s nothing to say,” James said. “It’s easy to say something when it’s bad. I like to get on us when we’re doing well, to try and keep us focused. I’m not a kick-a-man-when-you’re-down type of guy. That’s not my motto.”

If Cleveland wants to square up against the Warriors in the finals again and want to have any chance of beating them, they are going to have to have the ability to play small.

One trade option is Timofey Mozgov. Mozgov, as you can remember, was traded for two future first-round picks when the Cavaliers saw Anderson Varajeo go down with an injury leaving them with a hole inside defensively. Mozgov came in an provided serviceable minutes for them throughout the rest of the season and was a great role player in the Cavaliers run to the Finals.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported on the chances of the Cavaliers moving Mozgov,

“Nevertheless, the Cavs have started to make calls on the market for Timofey Mozgov, who could appeal to Western Conference contenders.”

Mozgov had regressed some this season but is still helpful when it comes to facing big lineups, but could really come to haunt you in the end against smaller lineups. With a trade, the Cavaliers could target a wing to help for a good playoff run.

Timofey Mozgov
(Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

If this Mozgov move is made, it will be for the sole reason to be able to play small ball. Tristan Thompson was signed to a big contract this past off season so he would step in a and become Cleveland’s primary big man if Mozgov is traded. They can’t just assume the finals is already a lock, especially if they move Mozgov because they will hurt when it comes to playing bigger. If they end up making it to the Finals and have to face San Antonio, it could haunt them because they wouldn’t be needing to play small ball.

All this remains in question because Mozgov just leaves Cleveland in a stick situation. Do they just wait it out until the offseason when Mozgov is a free agent?  Or make the trade so they can contend even more now? Trading Mozgov would have to be a wait and see for Cleveland to see if it will really maximize their potential.

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