Festus Ezeli has agreed to a 2 year/$15.2 million deal with the Portland Trailblazers. Compared to the recent contract of Timofey Mozgov (4 year/$64 million) with the Los Angeles Lakers, this is chump change. Alot of NBA fans were blown away by the huge contracts that these averag to above average players have been signing this offseason due to the salary cap increase. The Mozgov contract seems to have created the biggest jaw drop though, seeing as Mozgov has been extremely underwhelming for the Cleveland Cavaliers this past season. So let’s break this down: Festus Ezeli or Timofey Mozgov?
During the ’15-’16 season, Ezeli averaged 7 PPG compared to 6.3 PPG for Mozgov. Slight edge to Ezeli. Ezeli averaged 5.6 RPG, his counterpart averaged 4.4 RPG. Edge to Ezeli. When it comes to blocks, Mozgov 0.8 BPG compared to Ezili’s 1.0 BPG. Edge, once again, to Ezeli.
Mozgov is 3 years Ezeli’s elder, which usaully means that Mozgov should, big emphasis on the “should”, be more developed in the league. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. In most statistical caterories, Ezeli beats out Mozgov. Now, we are brought back to the core question: Festus Ezeli or Timofey Mozgov?
When looking at the contracts, you would think that Mozgov is an All-Star who is extremely sought after. Mozgov’s contract is more than Stephen Curry’s, Russell Westbrook’s, and is almost equal to what DeMarcus Cousins signed in ’14-’15. I’m not saying that Mozgov’s contract was a bad decision or overpayment, but it does seem that way. Now, the increased salary cap did have an impact, but did it have $64 million of an impact?
You have seen the stats, you have seen the contracts, so we’ll leave the argument to you: Festus Ezeli or Timofey Mosgov?
