Worst starting center in Lakers franchise history: Timofey Mozgov
Timofey Mozgov has the worst BPM of any player in franchise history with at least 41 starts to their name. Not only does Mozgov have the worst BPM but it really is not all that close as he checks in at a -4.3 during his time with the Lakers.
Mozgov was the other big contract that Kupchak signed in the 2016 offseason. Deng at least made some sense as he was a former all-star and there was still some potential there. Mozgov did not make sense at all. He was not even a starter on the Cleveland Cavaliers team that won the NBA Championship yet they gave him a four-year, $64 million contract.
That is just an absolutely absurd thing to think about. There are so many centers in the league who are so much better than Mozgov was back then that now get the league minimum. The Lakers were late to the party in knowing that you don’t pay centers, especially bad ones.
The Lakers handed out $64 million to a guy who averaged 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game off the bench the year prior. Let that sink in for a second. And what did Mozgov do? Continued to stink in LA.
Mozgov lasted just one year with the Lakers as he started 52 of 54 games that he appeared in. The new Lakers’ regime quickly moved off of Mozgov’s contract, pairing him with D’Angelo Russell to get an expiring back in Brook Lopez.