Timofey Mozgov became the first defection from the world champion Cavaliers when he agreed to a four-year, $64 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, according to multiple reports. His defection wasn't much of a surprise _ the Cavs had concluded by the end of the regular season he likely wasn't coming back.
At one point, Mozgov was expected to be in line for a max deal or close to it. That was before his disappointing final season in Cleveland, when he fell from starter to completely out of the rotation by the start of the postseason.
The Cavs are expected to take the money originally designated for Mozgov and now split it between free agents J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova. General manager David Griffin made it clear after the season he wanted to keep the core of this team intact. That includes Smith and Dellavedova.
Despite his best efforts to rehabilitate his image, there remains skepticism Smith will be able to land a long-term deal in free agency. He could return to the Cavs on another lucrative, short-term deal similar to the one-plus-one he signed last summer. Dellavedova is a restricted free agent who struggled in the postseason, but the Cavs are expected to match any reasonable offer he receives in what is a thin point guard class of free agents.
Mozgov averaged 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 76 games (48 starts) for the Cavs, although he only played about 17 minutes per game. He agreed to terms with the Lakers within the first hour of free agency Friday.
