NBA Rumors: LA Lakers to Replace Injured Timofey Mozgov with Jahlil Okafor

By Carlo Monzon
Jahlil Okafor
Jahlil Okafor during the 2015 NBA Summer League Wikimedia Commons/Ed

Timofey Mozgov of the Los Angeles Lakers recently suffered an injury while playing for the Russian national team in a friendly match against Ukraine. Because of this, the Lakers could considering getting Jahlil Okafor from the Philadelphia 76ers through a trade to replace Okafor.

Mozgov got injured last Friday as his home team took on Ukraine in an international friendly match. According to a press release from the Lakers, Mozgov has already undergone MRI but his condition will be re-evaluated again sometime this week.

Depending on the results of his checkup, there's a chance that Mozgov might miss the first couple of games with the Lakers for the 2016-2017 NBA season. This, of course, does not sit well with the team since it invested a lot on the Leningrad native. Specifically, the Los Angeles organization offered a four-year deal worth $64 million to sign him, CBS Sports reported.

With this amount of money, the Lakers are surely looking to use him as much as they can. However, because of the injury, they might need to reconsider their position on Mozgov's status with the team.

As reported previously, the Lakers have been trying to get Okafor from the 76ers for some time now. Although this was only suggested by rumors, it seems a deal involving Okafor could materialize due to Mozgov's current condition.

Compared to other teams in the NBA, the Lakers' current roster is relatively small since they prioritized getting shooters and athletes who can move fast. But since it is still uncertain if Mozgov will be able to play during the start of next season, his absence could leave the Los Angeles organization's offense and defense very vulnerable.

With Okafor, though, the Lakers will be able to get an experienced center who can easily assist the team's guards. In turn, the Los Angeles franchise will probably have to offer a couple of their younger shooters to Philadelphia, which will be good for the 76ers since the addition of smaller players will certainly alleviate the team's current issue regarding the surplus of big men.

However, before this deal can happen, Lakers should first convince the 76ers to engage in a trade. As noted by team resident Bryan Colangelo, despite the surplus, they have no plans of trading Okafor. But, if the deal the deal is tempting enough, then the 76ers might just give in and negotiate with the Lakers.

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