It was the most unlikely player that had the potential to stall the Carmelo Anthony trade on Monday night. With all the rest of the pieces in place, Timofey Mozgov became a sticking point. The Denver Nuggets wanted him, the New York Knicks weren’t ready to give him up and, for a moment, talks hit a stand-still.
Timofey Mozgov Traded To Nuggets, Becomes Key In Carmelo Anthony Deal After Much Haggling
Shortly thereafter, though, Mozgov was added to the fold, shipped off to Denver as Anthony and others were traded to New York. But why the big fuss over Mozgov. As mentioned earlier, he’s averaging four points and three rebounds in 13 minutes per game. It wouldn’t appear he’d be that big of a deal to be any more than a throw-in.
According to Yahoo!‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, Mozgov became part of the trade because of the relationship between his agent and Denver general manager Masai Ujiri.
Key element of Denver’s pursuit of Mozgov is close relationship between GM Masai Ujiri and center’s agent, Bouna Ndiaye, sources say.
With all the activity surrounding Anthony, and the various hands in the kitchen working on the deal, this should come as little surprise. On the New York side, it was reported general manager Donnie Walsh was overruled by those above his head. On the Denver side, it appears Ujiri’s relationship with Mozgov’s agent gave him an inside track, or perhaps gave him enough knowledge to feel comfortable pursuing the rookie center heavily.
For more on the deal, check out our Carmelo Anthony trade StoryStream.
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