Cleveland Cavaliers rumors: Can Timofey Mozgov be acquired for Tristan Thompson?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to put together a season in which they storm into the NBA Finals but they’re still not a complete contender.

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With the Bulls stout in the front court and teams out West big defensively as well, the Cavaliers need a rim protector that they don’t have now and need to either find one in free agency or trade for one right now.

Nate Duncan from Basketball Insiders opines that while the Cavaliers have a dire need for someone like Timofey Mozgov, they won’t be trading Tristan Thompson to get him — mainly because just trading him for Mozgov won’t get a deal done.

"Thompson probably doesn’t get it done. Maybe the Grizzlies pick (top-five protected and 15-30 protected through 2016, top-five protected in 2017 and 2018, unprotected in 2019) from the Memphis Grizzlies (Marreese Speights) gets it done, but I wouldn’t be parting with that if I were Cleveland."

Thompson is an interesting name to follow this season as he’s someone who the Cavaliers need to figure out if they want to extend, release or trade this upcoming summer. But for now, he’s not as valuable as he might be closer to the trade deadline in February.

Be sure to check FanSided.com’s official NBA page to keep up to date on the latest news and rumors from around the league all summer long.