The Sad Tale of the Signing of Timothy Mozgov

Open Letter to Jim Buss and the Lakers Organization:

It's been reached, or should I say breached:  my wit’s end ...... and stages of disbelief and insanity have set in.

Timothy freaking Mozgov??? For $64 million?? 

The Sad Reality that is The Lakers Free Agency Quests

The thoughts are racing in and out of my head. My fingers are burning up the keyboard, but my PC can't keep pace. I can’t say enough about this horrid transaction, maybe one of the worst in Lakers history, but I’m going to spout off a bit so hang on for the ride.

Timothy, barely averaged 1.5 points per game in the playoffs, Mozgov? The guy had a down year, is purposely sat down for most of the playoffs, and the Lakers reward him with a four year $64 million, contract? 14 more million than Clarkson’s new contract? Are you kidding me?? Maybe for a one year $4 million contract, but not anything near what the amount they gave this hamburger.

Timothy freaking Mozgov, the Russian Roy Hibbert: slow, plodding, big, and more than likely ineffective in Luke Walton’s running offense. You’ve got to be kidding?

Is he going to lay back and play defense while the rest of the team is running and gunning? We could have kept Hibbert for that, and for a hell of a lot less too! Or we could have just re-signed Tarik Black and Robert Sacre for about an eighth of Mozgov’s contact. $64 million? Is this a justifiable reason for fans shelling out the big bucks to attend a game? Is he a show stopper? Is he Los Angeles/Hollywood or “Showtime?”

Is this who the Lakers envision carrying on the legacy of their hallowed big men ? George Mikan must be rolling in his grave. 

Kareem, Shaq and George Mikan

For those who aren't familiar with him, and I'm sure many of you aren't, Mozgov is an about to be 30 year old, somewhat effective defense player, setter of dirty screens, loping, lurching player who looks like he could audition for the part of the Monster in a re-make of Young Frankenstein. 

What has happened to the Lakers?

This whole “we’ve given up before we even started” concept has got to go. We have become an organization (yes I said we, because we as fans have invested so much emotionally, mentally, and monetarily on this team) that has gone from world-class elitism, to bottom-feeding defeatism. 

Quality free agents continue to avoid the Lakers like the plague. The team has lost its credibility, and  Jim Buss has failed to fill his father's shoes.

"Jim...let your sister run the team, or sell it off."

We accept defeat as the norm. We have become the Clippers of old (and the current Flippers squad for that matter; had to get that jab in there). 

We’ve become the laughing stock of the NBA, hell of the entire basketball world. We’ve become fodder for basketball analysts. From the over-reactive Steven A Smith, to the comedic Charles Barkley. Once again I’ll have to hear Sir Charles’s pre-season comment about how the Lakers stink.

 

Timothy Mozgov?

Give me the GM job for a day, and I’ll guarantee you I’ll offer 64 million to several other players that will run circles around Mozgov, and the fans will be entertained at the very least.

Timothy freaking Mozgov. Congratulations on the biggest gift of your life. Why oh why, Buss family and Mitch Kupchak would you do something so foolish?

It has been suggested to me that perhaps we signed him so he could be traded, along with one of our young guns, to some team which has a legit center…one with a heartbeat, and has solid stats from something as, say, actually receiving playing time. 

Lakers Wishlist Centers: DeMarcus Cousins and Al Horford

I don’t see it, but I will cling to that hope as I live with the stupidity which has become Lakers basketball. Did we really just spend a large chunk of our free agent spending allowance on a guy whom Lebron James didn’t even want on the court with him in the Finals?

"Tim...you're killing me. Go sit down until we get that trophy."

I will never “leave” and jump off the bandwagon as a Lakers fan, but if anybody else wants to jump ship, now might be the time. I may not even hold it against you. This administration’s failure to move the organization back into the upper echelon of NBA teams is utterly criminal

You have failed Jim Buss. You have failed Mitch Kupchak. Although I don’t fully blame you because you probably aren't given much wriggle room with lil Jimmy running the family business.

Mitch Kupchak: In badly need of a laxative

Mr. Buss….you need to officially step down, or sell the team. The world has moved on, the NBA has moved on, and your brain has apparently moved on. You have tainted the purple and gold, and quite frankly, we’re now, to the rest of the league, the way the Washington Generals are to the Globetrotters.

I hope this is merely a sign and trade deal. I hope that I awake in an alternative universe. I hope that when I open my eyes, the Lakers will have signed a few solid free agents, and this Timothy Mozgov signing was just a nightmare. I hope……........................................

So, in closing, paraphrasing the great Chevy Chase in one of the more famous scenes from the National Lampoon Christmas Vacation movie:

"And I want to look Jim Buss, and/or whomever else signed Mozgov, straight in the eye and tell him what a cheap, lying, no good, rotten, far flushing, snake licking, dirt eating, inbreed, overstuffed, ignorant, blood sucking, dog kissing, brainless, hopeless, heartless, fat assed, bug eyed, stiff legged, spotty lipped, worm headed, sack of monkey shit he is!!! Halleluah!! Holy shit!! Where's the Tylenol??" 

  

Till next time…and hopefully with a more positive tone….

Sincerely, 

Upset Lakers Fans Everywhere