Lakers News: Timofey Mozgov Benched for Younger Players
By Jamaal Artis
The latest bit of Lakers news regards Timofey Mozgov and the rest of his season.
A report is coming out of the Los Angeles Lakers camp that Timofey Mozgov will be shut down for the Lakers final fifteen games in favor of the younger players on the roster. The Undefeated’s Marc J Spears, was the first to tweet out this bit of Lakers news.
During the course of the season Mozgov had his minutes cut, until he lost his starting position to Tarik Black and then to Lakers 2016 draft pick Ivac Zubac.
Mozgov was signed as a free agent in the summer of 2016 for 64 million over four years. Mozgov was supposed to shore up the Lakers non-existent interior defense from last year, but unfortunately Mozgov’s numbers 7.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.6 blocks didn’t pass muster with the Lakers coaching stuff.
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For those looking for another reason to prove why the front office of Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak needed to go, Mozgov’s contract (along with Luol Deng‘s) were used as evidence. Despite being part of the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers last year many thought the four-year contract was a waste of the Lakers spending money.
With another losing season the Lakers will now be auditioning their young prospects to see if they can gel into a cohesive unit, it also gives the new front office a chance to see if there are moves to be made.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Lakers make moves to jettison pieces this summer who fail to impress during these next few weeks.
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It remains to be seen what if anything can be done with Mozgov, the Lakers are paying him too much to sit on the bench, and his contract is too ridiculous to unload. If his playing days with the Lakers are over then it’s the first test for the new front office to fix the situation.