Walsh is also saying the right things in these articles. He is NOT saying this is a work in progress, etc. He's said on several interviews that this is a team built to be successful now.

Solace wrote:I love reading articles like this. I like that the team is so excited to play together. I think Felton is really going to thrive being able to pass the ball to these guys. Should get a healthy number of assists this season.

I loved Felton coming out of school and thought he had #1 pick potential. I thought he could really be a franchise caliber PG. It simply hasnt happened with the Bobcats (although he always killed the Knicks). He was good... solid but not great.

I dont know how the frontcourt rotation is going to shape up but Turiaf, Amare, AR and Timo can all finish around the basket. Douglas and Gallo can really shoot it so Felton has solid tools to succeed and I think the challenge is on him. Can he be the straw that stirs this drink?

Silverfuel wrote:anyone have a reliable scouting report link on mozgov? comparable talent in the nba?

#7 Timofey Mozgov C
23 years old, 7' 1"
Khimki

The athletic 7-1 center had an outstanding campaign under David Blatt with the Russian national team in the European Championships in Poland this summer, averaging 11 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 23 minutes per game, helping his team far exceed expectations despite missing most of their big name players. He seems to be making big strides in his game year after year and is clearly not a finished product at this point. With his outstanding physical attributes and especially the way he runs the floor, it not out of the question that he could be a much better fit for the more up and down style of play that is found in the NBA than he is for Europe.

Right now he’s seeing limited playing time on a Euroleague team in Khimki, but is gaining very good experience against the highest level of competition to be found on the continent. His stats in the Russian league and VTB United League are generally more impressive. We will likely follow up on his progress later in the season as we acquire more film.

Mozgov is reportedly interested in playing in the NBA, but has two more years on his contract after this season. He does have an NBA out clause after 2010-2011, with a buy out. It’s doubtful that Khimki would look to sell his rights this summer considering how valuable his domestic passport is to them. Russian league rules state that two local players must be on the court at all times.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Moving-Up-the-DraftExpress-Overseas-Free-Agent-Rankings-Part-Two--3353/#ixzz0tZ9ej7y1
http://www.draftexpress.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Looking Beyond the Draft: Timofey Mozgov

With all the money that BC Khimki decided to spend on free agents this summer—splurging for the services of former NBA players Jorge Garbajosa, Carlos Delfino, Milt Palacio and others—who would have anticipated that arguably their shrewdest signing would come from their second division team? That’s exactly what appears to have happened—at least since the mid-season hiring of Italian head coach Sergio Scariolo, and an injury to Maciej Lampe. The 7-1 Mozgov has had some excellent games for the suburban Moscow-based team—for example a 23 point, 6 rebound, 2 block effort in just 20 minutes against Panellinios, and a 14 point, 11 rebound, 3 block, and 3 steal night in 27 minutes against Benetton Treviso.

Eurocupbasketball.com

We discussed Mozgov last year already in some depth, talking about an incredibly raw 7-footer with a WWF wrester’s body and intriguing athleticism for a player his size. No NBA team heeded the call, and despite being draft-eligible, Mozgov’s name was not called at Madison Square Garden theater, making him a free agent for all 30 NBA teams now.

It’s not hard to see what makes Mozgov unique on first glance. He is a true 7-footer who is built like a house, with long arms, and outstanding strength and athleticism. Imagine a bulkier Andris Biedrins, or a Russian version of D.J. Mbenga.

Mozgov is an extremely limited offensive player, who is mostly relegated to catching and finishing around the basket, and making his presence felt on the offensive glass. He is an absolute force as an offensive rebounder in fact, leading the EuroCup in that category per-minute. He loves to set bruising screens and then roll to the basket for an empathic alley-oop lob, and does a great job throwing his weight around in the paint and moving opposing centers around. His toughness and activity level are both top-notch, and help make up for some of the many shortcomings that he suffers from at this point.

Despite being a tremendous finisher around the basket, Mozgov possesses little in the ways of touch, post-moves, dribbling ability, footwork or any of the other skill-based attributes that most big men need in order to be effective at the highest level of competition. He’s not terribly coordinated, often looking like a bull in a china shop trying to execute advanced moves, thus being fairly turnover prone. While he gets to the free throw line at a solid rate, he only converts around 50% of his attempts, and is obviously incredibly limited when asked to do anything offensively outside of the paint. No one is going to confuse his passing ability or basketball IQ with that of Arvydas Sabonis anytime soon.

Defensively, Mozgov is a major presence, as he’s extremely difficult to post up on the block and has all the size, length and athleticism needed to swallow up opposing centers whole, and then grab the ensuing rebound for good measure. He blocks one shot for every 9 minutes he’s on the floor, and grabs a rebound every 3 minutes, which obviously makes him one of the more productive players you’ll find at his position in Europe. He brings very good intensity to this end of the floor, and has the added bonus of being agile enough to step out and hedge screens, showing very nice agility in the process. Mozgov still has a ways to go in terms of improving his fundamentals and all-around court awareness—he still makes too many rookie mistakes to be trusted by most top-level coaches. He’s also fairly foul prone and has a tendency to bite on pump-fakes, being a bit naïve as you might expect from a player with little experience.

All in all, Mozgov looks like a very interesting prospect that teams would do well to keep tabs on, as you just don’t find many players with his combination of size, strength, athleticism and intensity. Considering how much he’s improved over the past year, and the fact that he’s only 22 years old, there is no telling where he’ll be in a few years, as he’s obviously a late-bloomer who is only getting better by the day.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/article/European-Roundup-Casspi-Coming-Along-3126/#ixzz0tZ9tYko7
http://www.draftexpress.com

martin wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Solace wrote:I love reading articles like this. I like that the team is so excited to play together. I think Felton is really going to thrive being able to pass the ball to these guys. Should get a healthy number of assists this season.

and why shouldnt he?

I loved Felton coming out of school and thought he had #1 pick potential. I thought he could really be a franchise caliber PG. It simply hasnt happened with the Bobcats (although he always killed the Knicks). He was good... solid but not great.

wow, you put him next to Chris Paul and DWilliams? Them some fighting words.

Gonna be interesting year for Felton, he had kinda crappy teammates and/or a system that perhaps did not fit his overall strengths. MDA got work to to.

Yeah, the Bobcats had only one real shooter and no low-post scorers. You can only throw so many alley-opps to Chandler. Plus, you know Brown was having him slow down the offense. If Duhon could put up half-way decent stats in this system, I think Felton will put up Chris Paul-like numbers in this system.

martin wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Solace wrote:I love reading articles like this. I like that the team is so excited to play together. I think Felton is really going to thrive being able to pass the ball to these guys. Should get a healthy number of assists this season.

and why shouldnt he?

I loved Felton coming out of school and thought he had #1 pick potential. I thought he could really be a franchise caliber PG. It simply hasnt happened with the Bobcats (although he always killed the Knicks). He was good... solid but not great.

wow, you put him next to Chris Paul and DWilliams? Them some fighting words.

Gonna be interesting year for Felton, he had kinda crappy teammates and/or a system that perhaps did not fit his overall strengths. MDA got work to to.

Now I think he's struggled as a pro. Maybe its the system. Who knows. 14/7 is a good PG. He defends well, plays hard, he's tough... just hasnt been that cog in a great team I thought he could be, Hopefully I misjudged him and he DOES become that motor in a great team and its our team.

I thought he could be Kevin Johnson part II. He's that fast. Hopefully this system gets him to that next level. That why we have this coach isnt it????

Nash didnt peak until he hit Pho at age 30. We cant only hope... god could image if Felton becomes our Nash? People (me included) would have a very different opinion of MDA

fishmike wrote:

martin wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Solace wrote:I love reading articles like this. I like that the team is so excited to play together. I think Felton is really going to thrive being able to pass the ball to these guys. Should get a healthy number of assists this season.

and why shouldnt he?

I loved Felton coming out of school and thought he had #1 pick potential. I thought he could really be a franchise caliber PG. It simply hasnt happened with the Bobcats (although he always killed the Knicks). He was good... solid but not great.

wow, you put him next to Chris Paul and DWilliams? Them some fighting words.

Gonna be interesting year for Felton, he had kinda crappy teammates and/or a system that perhaps did not fit his overall strengths. MDA got work to to.

I did. I know he played on teams loaded with talent but I thought he was the biggest reason NC won that title. He was so fast and I thought he made everything look easy. I thought Paul was the #1 PG in that draft but Felton was like 1A with Deron being the 3rd best. That NC team had 4 players in the top 14 (Marvin, Felton, McCants, May). Marvin was a great athlete and was drafted on upside but Felton was the motor and heart of the team through and through.

Now I think he's struggled as a pro. Maybe its the system. Who knows. 14/7 is a good PG. He defends well, plays hard, he's tough... just hasnt been that cog in a great team I thought he could be, Hopefully I misjudged him and he DOES become that motor in a great team and its our team.

I thought he could be Kevin Johnson part II. He's that fast. Hopefully this system gets him to that next level. That why we have this coach isnt it????

Nash didnt peak until he hit Pho at age 30. We cant only hope... god could image if Felton becomes our Nash? People (me included) would have a very different opinion of MDA

All I have to say is this.. we played the bobcats on two occasions last year where we had the lead late, and the cats went into felton iso mode... we didn't have a player who could stay in front of him, not TD, not nate, not duhon... he killed us... guy is extremely fast and on top of that very strong..