Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - The Cleveland Cavaliers continued to be active in the trade market on Wednesday, bolstering a glaring need in the frontcourt by acquiring center Timofey Mozgov from the Denver Nuggets.
The move comes just two days after the Cavaliers orchestrated a three-team deal with New York and Oklahoma City, in which Cleveland obtained 2013 NBA Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith and guard Iman Shumpert from the Knicks and shipped 2012 No. 4 overall pick Dion Waiters to the Thunder.
Cleveland received a protected 2015 first round choice from Oklahoma City as part of that swap. It dealt away that selection on Wednesday, as well as a protected 2015 first rounder it owned from Memphis, to bring in Mozgov.
The Cavaliers also garnered a 2015 second round pick from the Nuggets in the trade.
Mozgov had started each of Denver' 35 games this season, averaging 8.5 points and a career-high 7.8 rebounds as well as 1.2 blocks. The 7-foot-1 Russian averaged a personal-best 9.4 points along with 6.4 rebounds and 1.2 rejections over 82 games in 2013-14.
The 28-year-old also has a familiarity with Cavaliers head coach David Blatt, who coached Mozgov on the Russian National team that won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Mozgov joins an injury-riddled Cleveland roster that lost starting center Anderson Varejao to a season-ending torn Achilles tendon on Dec. 23, leaving the Cavaliers extremely thin in the frontcourt.
Recent injuries to LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have also helped trigger Cleveland's recent cold stretch. The Cavs have lost five of six entering Wednesday's game against Houston and are currently fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 19-16 record.