Size has been a constant problem for Cleveland Cavaliers. With the loss of Anderson Varejao, the team had to fill their big-man position by acquiring center Timofey Mozgov from the Denver Nuggets.

The discussion between the Cavaliers and the Nuggets, which have been going on for months, were favourable for the Nuggets because they really made the Cavaliers work for Mozgov.

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The Cavaliers ended up sending over two protected first-round picks to get the deal done. They will also be sending a future pick they own from the Memphis Grizzlies from a 2013 trade and a first-rounder they acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this week in a deal involving Dion Waiters.

It is not all bad though as the Cavaliers get a 2015 second-round pick in return.

"It was a deal that we worked on for quite some time," Cavaliers GM David Griffin said. "We're very excited about this. It fits our needs."

The Nuggets - with a record of 15-20 - will be clearing money from their books and will also pick up a US$4.6 million trade exception from the Cavaliers.

The Thunder pick is top 18-protected this year and top-15 protected in each of the following years. Finally, the Grizzlies' pick will go to Denver if it falls between picks 6-14 in the next two years and is top-five protected for two years after that.

Mozgov seems to be a good fit for the Cavaliers as he already has a strong relationship with head coach David Blatt when he coached the Russian national team that won bronze in the 2012 Olympics in London.

Mozgov's stats also helped to tip the scale of the Cavaliers' interest as he averaged 8.5 points and 7.8 rebounds this season. He has a favourable team option worth US $4.95 million next season.

The Cavaliers have been busy recently as they also acquired J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert from the New York Knicks. 

Tagscleveland cavaliers, Timovey Mozgov, Anderson Varejao