HoopsHype.com Rumors

Hey Paul, it's definitely been a sad turn-of-events for The Birdman, Chris Andersen, who has seemed down-in-the-dumps since being pushed down the bench. I've always enjoyed being around Bird. He's a guy -- on and off the court -- who thrives off energy and personality. But reality has settled in with the Nuggets. They now have four younger big men who have provided more consistent energy at practices and games -- Kenneth Faried, JaVale McGee, Kosta Koufos and Timofey Mozgov. Even Mozzy himself hasn't played much lately -- he seemed to be affected by the McGee acquisition and hasn't had the same tenacity we saw earlier this season. Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Javale McGee, Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufos, Chris Andersen, Kenneth Faried 

February 2011. They were so close. It was all-star weekend and the Melo trade was close to being finalized. Except it wasn't. Ujiri was holding it up. Coach George Karl called Masai's cellphone and barked: "WHO THE (EXPLETIVE) IS MOZGOV?" Ujiri became the GM on Aug. 27, 2010. On that day, he began his plan to trade one of the best talents in Nuggets history. Anthony wanted out, so for the next six months, every single day, Ujiri, Kroenke and D'Alessandro methodically made plans, backup plans and backup plans for backup plans. They negotiated on multiple fronts. All along, the coach was losing his mind. And now, with the trade deadline looming, New York was offering three prized young players — Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton and Wilson Chandler. But Ujiri wanted more. Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Masai Ujiri 

Nene's injured calf will keep the Nuggets' power forward out at least a few more days. Asked about the prognosis, Nene said, "I don't know." "Doctors said (Tuesday) it would be four or five days with the (walking) boot," Nene said. "And after that, we're going to see how I'm feeling and when I feel ready to go, I'll go." Nene is one of three Nuggets starters who have been out an extended time. Forward Danilo Gallinari remains out indefinitely with a severely sprained ankle, and center Timofey Mozgov has missed seven games with a sprained ankle. Mozgov is expected back soon and has an outside chance to return against Memphis tonight. Officially listed as day to day, Mozgov went through a pre-game workout before the Nuggets' 102-84 loss at Dallas on Wednesday night and said he continues to make good progress. He has been out since Feb. 3. Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Danilo Gallinari, Nene 

Benjamin Hochman: Asked what he was feeling when he hit the ground with his ankle sprain, Mozgov said: "Bad words. In Russian." Twitter

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Injuries 

Benjamin Hochman: Mozzy isn't going to Portland and said he'll see how it feels in a couple days Twitter

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Injuries 

It is well known that this season Denver Nuggets rookies had to dougie on the court after a public scrimmage, but that was only a part of the story. On December 26, Timofey Mozgov wrote this on his personal blog at Sports.ru: After the morning practice team captain gave every rookie a gift that was indeed worthy of a captain — these exact backpacks)) And then he used his captain word and ordered that the rookies never part with them during the entire season. Also he has put some interesting content inside, so that the guys wouldn’t be too sad. Rush'n Hoops

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov 

The guys, of course, were taken aback at first, almost got depressed and felt terribly shy. And we were cheering them up, teasing them, so to say. I am lucky, after all – nothing like this was happening last year… Or am I not?! I didn’t get a backpack…)) The photo features a Hello Kitty backpack and its content is easily recognizable. Rush'n Hoops

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov 

Benjamin Hochman: george karl is high on mozgov, whom he calls "timo" (pronounced "tee-mo").. so this town has tulo, tebow, timo Twitter

Denver Nuggets, George Karl, Timofey Mozgov 

What does your gut tell you about the Nuggets' chances of signing Nene? George Karl: I'm anxious for my opportunity to recruit him (later this week). I think Nene knows how much I care about him. In a strange way, Nene's become maybe the most important guy on our team. He's not a man of big numbers, but he's a man of big responsibility. I think our young guys need him. We've talked a lot (in the past) about how he'd rather play power forward than center, well, I think this is the year he can get that opportunity (with Timofey Mozgov at center). He's become our veteran leader. I really do think this is the best place for him. Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Free Agency, George Karl, Timofey Mozgov, Nene 

Forward Danilo Gallinari (Italy), center Timofey Mozgov (Russia) and guard Ty Lawson (Lithuania) are playing overseas but have opt-out clauses in their contracts. "I thought that ended up working in our favor," Ujiri said. "They're playing two or three times a week. You can't ask for anything better than the situation these guys were in. They're in shape and coming back almost in game-shape. Basketball-wise, it's 100 percent good for them and for us." ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Timofey Mozgov, Danilo Gallinari, Ty Lawson 

This is Timofey Mozgov’s recent post in its entirety, up to the last set of closing parentheses (which stand for smileys). The End! Hi everyone! So tell me, are you celebrating already?))) It’s still hard to believe, right? Just like that – abruptly and spontaneously, yes? 148 days and there you go! The end!!! Actually, guys (and your female comrades-in-arms), please take my most sincere congratulations. All of us together – colleagues, people who love and value basketball, fans – without a doubt, have eagerly waited for these strokes of the pens which are exactly golden for all of us. It happened at last. Rush'n Hoops

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Lockout 

Now I’m going to reduce my emotions a little and tell you about this fact from a perspective of a player. My personal take. 148 days is a long time. It’s very long. Of course I won’t say this time I was on pins and needles. But I definitely wanted certainty. I really missed it. The prospect of having to pack your bags any time or having to look at them unpacked, to tell you the truth, wasn’t making me happy. Well, I think it’s clear. It’s good that the new agreement is in place for no less than five years, now it’s known. It means that this nightmare won’t repeat soon. Aside from that, everything was not just OK – everything was just SUPER! My agent (yes, I mean Max – now you have seen his photo at last))) and me have made a decision that was the only one that’s right in my opinion: as soon as lockout showed itself, we have started to play in Europe. Rush'n Hoops

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Lockout 

Timofey Mozgov: All in all, I feel normal physically. But emotionally… It seems like I can do anything almost with my eyes closed (this time it is automatic). But inside, there’s emptiness. A basketball devastation. There’s a colossal mental fatigue after the Eurobasket. And only now, in this new atmosphere and setting, national team players start to “come alive” little by little. Rush'n Hoops

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Lockout 

And if Mozgov plays with the level of confidence he displayed Saturday night, the Russians should be able to dispatch the surprise team of the tournament. But for Mozgov, getting his confidence back was not an easy task. “I’ll tell you the truth,” Russia coach David Blatt said. “The last two seasons in the summer we worked very hard with Timofey, and he has given us a tremendous performance in EuroBasket and the World Championship, and he justifiably became a very attractive candidate for the NBA as a result. “The fact he didn’t play a lot this year (in the NBA) brought him back to me at square one. I didn’t have the same Timofey that I had last year when I started the summer, and we had to work very hard to get him to where he was. Now he’s back, as you saw. A little bit later than I would have liked, but right now he’s the same high-level guy that we sent to the league last year. And I’m hoping, No. 1, that he’ll be that player for the rest of the tournament, and I’m hoping, No. 2, when he goes back to the league he’ll get a chance to play and he won’t come to me next year where he was at the beginning of this summer.” SheridanHoops

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Russia 

Khimki's GM Sergey Bychkov stressed his team's need for a center after the departure of both Savrasenko and Papadopoulos at the end of last season: "I have repeatedly stated that we would not be signing NBA players just for a few months, but Mozgov was a particular case, given him importance to both our club and our fans." Mozgov commented on his return: "I wanted to return to Europe during lockout, and to be honest I wanted to return to Khimki [...] I have many friends here and Khimki is my second home. We agreed in no time." TalkBasket

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Lockout, Russia, Khimki Moscow 

As confirmed by sources close to the situation, Timofey Mozgov agreed to terms with BC Khimki Moscow for one year with NBA out so he can return to Denver Nuggets when lockout ends. The Russian center has played with Khimki from 2006 to 2010 before his departure to America. Mozgov started the season with New York Knicks averaging 4ppg and 3.1rpg in 34 games and then was traded to Denver Nuggets in the blockbuster deal who brought Carmelo Anthony in the Big Apple. Sportando

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Lockout, Russia, Khimki Moscow 

BC Khimki Moscow Region brought a familiar face back and announced a new player with the signing of Timofey Mozgov and Chris Quinn on Thursday. Mozgov (2.16 meters, 25 years old) played four seasons with the club from 2006 through 2010. Euroleague.net

Chris Quinn, Timofey Mozgov, Russia, Khimki Moscow 

According to the information that became available to Sports.ru from a reliable source, Denver Nuggets’ Russian center Timofey Mozgov will return to his former club BC Khimki, where he has spent four seasons, for the period of NBA lockout. The Russian club should announce the signing at tomorrow’s presentation. Sports.ru

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Lockout, Russia, Moscow 

Ndiaye plans to also seek deals in Europe for some of his other NBA clients, such as Portland’s Nicolas Batum and Denver’s Timofey Mozgov, but added that Roddy Beaubois of the champion Dallas Mavericks underwent surgery on left foot surgery last month and won’t pursue opportunities in Europe. “This is a trend. Everybody is trying to sign NBA guys,” Ndiaye said in a telephone interview from Paris. Seraphin “may just sign with a team, because I don’t think it’s a good idea to wait. The market will be overloaded by NBA players. It doesn’t hurt to have a pre-agreement if we find something we like. We may just wait and see. But nothing would happen until the European championship ends.” Washington Post

Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Rodrigue Beaubois, Timofey Mozgov, Lockout, Europe, Nicolas Batum 

Karl is confident the Nuggets will extend Nene's contract. But even if Martin re-signs, the Nuggets will take a long look at the low-post prospects. Martin and Chris Andersen are in their 30s and injury-prone. The Nuggets like Timofey Mozgov, but adding another budding post player would be enticing. Maryland's 6-10 Jordan Williams visited Denver last week. He's dropped his weight to 250 pounds and says he has expanded his range. As for Harris, he averaged 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds as a Tennessee freshman. Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Timofey Mozgov, Chris Andersen, Nene