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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 

As for Nene's low-post companion, it's possible that free agent Kenyon Martin could sign elsewhere. Karl was quick to point out that it's too early in the summer to make roster speculations — free agency doesn't start until July 1 — but he did suggest that big man Timofey Mozgov could play about 25 minutes per game next season. "But will he play 82 games? I don't know. But in time, I can see him playing a good stretch of minutes for us. But you've got so many guys that are free agents, to make predictions are so hypothetical." Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Free Agency, George Karl, Kenyon Martin, Timofey Mozgov 

Timofey Mozgov: For example, I signed my contract with Nike on October 11. And I played my first game, as I recall, only on 27th. But here it’s normal. Another thing is that the essence of a contract with a superstar and with a newcomer is significantly different. That’s a fact! The higher you climb up the Olympus, the more conditions there are, it terms of exactly money payments. In the beginning it’s an exchange deal. Which means, a player promises to wear Nike shoes everywhere (unless when it’s against the rules set by the dress code of the League, more on this a bit later), and the company to generously equip him for it. Let me explain some of the nuances using myself as an example. So. Right now I’m not getting any money from them directly. Yes, in my contract there are generous bonuses for all sorts of individual achievement – getting on the list of the top players of the week, top rookie lists, Rookie of the Year award, and so on. And also for game performance: points, minutes, rebounds, blocked shots… So, for almost every positive stat on the boxscore. Rush'n Hoops

Denver Nuggets, Sneakers, Timofey Mozgov 

Timofey Mozgov: Or, say, the output of the team in the playoffs with my direct participation. On the regular season has not speak, but that was more obvious, give an example regarding the “games for departure.” I can count on the award, if the club will break in the conference semifinals, and the brain will be on the floor an average of at least 15 minutes per game throughout the series. Here’s how it was. ”Regular season” “calculates” on the same principle. Understand? And all in the same spirit. Or, let’s say, for the team reaching the playoffs if I’m a part of it. I won’t speak about the regular season, but to make it clear, I’ll use the playoffs for an example. I will receive compensation if the club reaches the Conference semifinals, while Mozgov averages no less than 15 minutes on the court for the entire series. That’s how it works. The regular season performance is evaluated using the same principle. Got it? Everything else is like that. Rush'n Hoops

Denver Nuggets, Sneakers, Timofey Mozgov 

Timofey Mozgov: Nike has a division called Nike Elite. They set up a personal account for me on their website, and it has a positive balance, that is mentioned in the contract. I’m logging in using my password and may check the stock now. And I should mention that not only sportswear is available there, but the casual clothes mane by the manufacturer too. As far as I know, a well-known American designer designs it exclusively for Nike. So I log in, check out the goods, make a choice, make an order, confirm it and after a few days I already get the parcel with my order at home. It’s very convenient!!! Also, I have a so-called Nike ID. Although the service is not available for Russians and other Europeans, but I think you have heard about it a lot. This is the “trick”, when every resident of the States may order personally custom-made shoes, backpacks, clothing or goods with a different “engraving”. By the way, I remember Booker in Khimki played in shoes with his last name on it. Rush'n Hoops

Denver Nuggets, Sneakers, Timofey Mozgov