The Cleveland Cavaliers currently sit atop the Eastern Conference and have been playing particularly well lately but they are not without their issues. The Cavaliers have had their off the court issues recently and another thing that isn't really being talked about is the massive luxury tax bill they are set to pay after this season. General manager Dan Gilbert has said he doesn't care about spending the money but if they can shed some salary without hurting their chances to win a title they likely would. This could mean that trading Timofey Mozgov might be an option.
Cleveland has been receiving calls regarding Timofey Mozgov's availability, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, but they are not inclined to trade him at this time. Although they expressed no interest in trading their 7-foot-1 center right now there are a few factors that might push them to make a trade before the Feb. 18 deadline.
Mozgov was a big part of the Cavs' title run a season ago as he was acquired midseason and performed very well but his role shrunk in the NBA Finals. Mozgov started this season in the starting lineup and played normal minutes but recently he has been replaced by Tristan Thompson as a starter and his role has virtually vanished. Mozgov played a season low five minutes in their game on Monday against the Washington Wizards and he hasn't played more than 17 in any game since Dec. 20.
Mozgov is making $4.9 million this season, which isn't a lot but if the Cavs can trade him and not take on any salary they save much more than just $5 million against the luxury tax so it is at least worth considering, especially since he isn't playing much. Mozgov is also in the final year of his deal and will likely be a highly sought after free agent this upcoming summer so there may be teams that want to get their hands on him now so they have an advantage when he does hit the open market.
The Cavaliers traded two protected first round picks to the Denver Nuggets for Mozgov a season ago but it is unlikely they will get the same value for him now. The Cavaliers would likely be able to get something for Mozgov because he is still a very good player stuck on a deep team but a trade would be worth it just because of the money he is saving them. As mentioned earlier, the Cavaliers are not looking to trade Mozgov now but there is more than a month between now and the trade deadline and if his playing time continues to be this low they might see it as a better option than they initially thought.
