Timofey Mozgov

The Cavs have been trying to obtain Timofey Mozgov ever since David Griffin became the team's general manager.

(AP)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- David Griffin had been after Denver center Timofey Mozgov for nearly a year. Right after being named the Cavaliers' general manager on Feb. 6, 2014, Griffin tried to trade for the 7-foot-1 Russian. Denver wasn't interested.

Griffin's next move was to send two-second rounders along with Earl Clark and Henry Sims to Philadelphia for 7-footer Spencer Hawes. The quest for Mozgov began with Hawes.

The Cavs weren't able to re-sign Hawes, who was a free agent in the summer of 2014. They had to clear salary cap room to sign LeBron James. It pained Griffin to add 7-footer Tyler Zeller to a salary dump deal (along with Jarrett Jack, Sergey Karasev and a 2016 first-round pick), but you do what must be done to bring James home.

While all this was happening, in the back of Griffin's mind were these names:

1. Kevin Love.

2. Mozgov.

Griffin liked Mozgov even before he hired David Blatt as coach. But once Blatt joined the Cavs and raved about coaching Mozgov on the Russian Olympic team, Griffin became even more excited about the idea.

He also knew that Kevin Love is a tremendous rebounder and scorer, but a weak defender. Love is at his best when playing next to a center who likes to guard the rim and block shots.

Even when trading Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and Miami's 2015 first-round pick to Minnesota for Love, Griffin was searching for a way to bring in a big man. A very big man. A Russian.

The Cavs knew the following:

1. James needed the ball.

2. Kyrie Irving needed the ball.

3. Love needed the ball.

4. Dion Waiters needed the ball.

The Cavs needed a center such as Mozgov. So did Love. So did any team that was serious about going deep into the playoffs. That's because Mozgov doesn't need the ball to be happy. Instead, his defense would help your team get the ball back.

STRANGE TRADES

Your head can explode trying to keep track of all the trades that the Cavs pulled to create salary cap exceptions and draft picks. Here are some of the moves Griffin made as he was guided by the team's salary cap experts, Tony Leotti and Brock Aller:

1. The Cavs traded Carrick Felix and a 2015 second-round pick to Utah for Erik Murphy, Dwight Powell, Malcolm Thomas and John Lucas III. All were on non-guaranteed contracts.

2. Those guys and two future second-rounders were traded to Boston in exchange for Keith Bogans, who was not even going to play. It was a paper deal designed to meet the needs of both team's salary cap situations.

3. Two days later, Bogans and a second-rounder were traded to Philadelphia for a $5.3 million trade exception.

4. That trade exception became a very big deal, because it was used to bring Mozgov to Cleveland.

5. When Varejao went down for the season with an Achilles injury, the Cavs applied for and received a $4.9 million "disabled player exception" from the NBA.

The Cavs hope J.R. Smith can be a scorer off the bench -- a role they wanted Dion Waiters to fill.

NEEDING A DRAFT PICK

Griffin kept talking to Denver about Mozgov. A few weeks ago, Denver seemed ready to trade the center, but wanted a pair of first-round picks.

The Cavs had one to trade -- a protected first-rounder that former general manager Chris Grant had acquired from Memphis in a trade for Jon Leuer.

They needed another -- from somewhere.

They needed something else -- a shooting guard who could defend.

Back to the list:

1. James needed the ball.

2. Love needed the ball.

3. Irving needed the ball.

4. Waiters needed the ball.

5. The team defense and rim protection were terrible. Too many guys needing the ball, and Waiters was the one most expendable.

The question became: How could the Cavs turn Waiters into a shooting guard who didn't need the ball ... and another first-round pick?

Assistant General Manager Trent Redden had been scouting the Knicks, and believed Iman Shumpert was exactly what the Cavs needed at guard. Also, the moody but talented J.R. Smith could supply some scoring off the bench.

TWO TRADES IN THREE DAYS

The Cavs realized now was the time to move. They knew the following:

1. New York wanted to dump J.R. Smith.

2. The Cavs wanted Shumpert, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard who is an excellent defender.

3. The Knicks were on a 12-game losing streak. They have become interested in collecting lottery ping pong balls. Shumpert is a restricted free agent after the season. The Knicks' stance was that if the Cavs wanted Shumpert, they also had to take Smith.

4. Oklahoma City was interested in Waiters. The Cavs thought Smith could become a scorer off the bench -- replacing Waiters.

5. This becomes a complicated three-way deal between the Thunder, Cavs and Knicks. The key point is the Cavs saw it as one trade that could set up another deal -- for Mozgov.

6. The Cavs picked up Smith, Shumpert and the Thunder's protected first-round pick. Waiters went to Oklahoma City. The Cavs sent Alex Kirk and Lou Amundson to the Knicks, along with a 2019 second-round pick.

7. immediately, the Cavs talked to Denver and the two teams agreed on Mozgov. The Cavaliers shipped a protected first-rounder (a Memphis pick) and the Oklahoma City first rounder to Denver.

8. All the arcane moves made with acquiring the $5.3 million contract of Keith Bogans and trading it two days later for the $5.3 million trade exception paid off -- that trade exception was used for the Cavs to absorb the contract of Mozgov.

9. The Cavs used the $4.9 million "disabled player exemption" to cover Shumpert's $2.65 million salary.

10. Mozgov is paid $4.65 million this season, and he has a team option for $5 million next year. He's 28 and in his prime. He was averaging 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and shooting 50 percent from the field for Denver in 26 minutes a game.

NINE TRADES IN 11 MONTHS

In Griffin's 11 months as general manager, consider:

1. The only players remaining are Irving, Varejao, Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova.

2. He has made nine trades.

3. He has traded four first-round picks and seven second-round picks. Most of the draft picks were obtained by former general manager Chris Grant, who supplied Griffin with a lot of options for trades. If this works, Grant will be an unsung hero despite some misses in his drafting.

4. He acquired one first-round pick and six second-round picks.

5. Once everyone is healthy, the only player from last season expected to start is Irving. The others are Mozgov (Denver), James (Miami), Love (Minnesota) and Shumpert (New York).

7. The Cavs still have a first-round pick in 2015. After that, it becomes iffy because some of the other first-rounders are conditional.

8. Owner Dan Gilbert keeps adding more and more money to the payroll. A safe guess is about $30 million more since all the trades began. He isn't afraid to pay the luxury tax and his checkbook kept Griffin dealing. Now, the question is if all these moves will pay off and turn the Cavs into a serious title contender.