EL SEGUNDO – The Los Angeles Lakers have signed center Timofey Mozgov, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.
“Timofey is a player who has shown the ability to change the game at the defensive end, and fills an area of need for us at the center position,” said Kupchak. “We are very pleased to add him to our team.”
Mozgov joins the Lakers after winning the 2016 NBA Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In six NBA seasons with the Cavs, Denver Nuggets, and New York Knicks, the 7-1 Mozgov has a career field goal percentage of 53.7% and holds averages of 6.9 points and 5.0 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game over 369 contests (208 starts). He started all 20 games of Cleveland’s run to the 2015 NBA Finals, averaging 10.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 26.5 minutes while shooting 50.0% from the field.
Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Mozgov has represented his home country internationally, winning bronze medals at the 2012 Olympics in London and at the 2011 FIBA European Championships. Prior to beginning his NBA career with the Knicks in 2010, the 29-year-old played professionally in Russia for six seasons.