The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly are close to completing a trade for Denver Nuggets center Timofey Mozgov. The deal could be completed by Wednesday night, according to both ESPN and Yahoo Sports.
Cleveland has been linked to Mozgov since the beginning of the season, and the loss of center Anderson Varejao made it even more crucial for the Cavs to trade for a rim-protector. After Monday's trade, which netted them another potential 2015 first-round pick, the Cavaliers finally appear to have enough to entice Denver into dealing their 7-foot-1 big man.
Per ESPN:
"The Cleveland Cavaliers are finalizing a trade with the Denver Nuggets to acquire longtime target Timofey Mozgov, according to league sources.
"Sources told ESPN.com that the Cavaliers, who have been pursuing Mozgov for months to fill their huge need for a basket protector, are poised to send two future first-round picks to the Nuggets for Mozgov, after Denver rejected months of trade proposals for the Russian center.
"The deal, sources said, could be consummated as early as Wednesday."
Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed the impending trade and reported Mozgov is the only player included in the deal.
"Cleveland will send Denver two picks that it controls via Memphis and Oklahoma City, league sources tell Yahoo. No other players in deal," Wojnarowski tweeted Wednesday. "... Cleveland is absorbing Mozgov into an exception."
The Cavaliers were able to take on Mozgov's $4.65 million contract without trading any players because of the $5.3 million trade exception they acquired in the Keith Bogans deal this offseason.
