Former NBA center Timofey Mozgov signs with Russian team

Longtime NBA center Timofey Mozgov has inked a deal with Russian Super League team Runa Basket Moscow, per Dario Skerletic of Sportando.

After spending the 2017-18 NBA season on the Nets, the 7-foot-1, 275-pound center traveled overseas. He rejoined Russian club Khmiki from 2019-21. He also suited up for Khmiki from 2006-2010 and again during the 2011 NBA lockout. Last year, Mozgov averaged 8.3 points and 4.2 rebounds across six contests.

The 35-year-old big man logged eight seasons in the NBA after initially going undrafted in 2008. He played with the Knicks, Nuggets, Cavaliers, Lakers and finally the Nets. Mozgov won a title as a key role player for the 2016 championship Cleveland team.

After winning in Cleveland, Mozgov signed a lucrative four-year, $64M deal with the Lakers, which L.A. immediately regretted. The team traded him to Brooklyn the next summer. It would be his final NBA on-court action, and he essentially became a contract used to match salaries in deals. Mozgov was then sent to the Hornets in the summer of 2018, who promptly traded his contract to the Magic. Mozgov never played a game for Orlando during the 2018-19 season after being felled by a knee injury that required surgery. Orlando waived his deal in the 2019 offseason.

Mozgov holds career averages of 6.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.8 blocks across 454 games.