One of the more surprising signings in last year’s free agency was when Timofey Mozgov agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers for four years at $64 million. Despite his championship pedigree with the Cleveland Cavaliers, many still believed he was overpaid and that he did not deserve to receive a contract with that amount of money.

Mozgov started out this past season as the team’s full-time starter, but soon lost his spot and even fell out of their rotation. Now with the Brooklyn Nets, he considers it as a chance for him to prove his worth and also have a fresh start. He even said recently that he will do whatever head coach Kenny Atkinson will tell to him to do, including shooting from half court.

Although his statement should be taken with a grain of salt, it goes to show that the Russian big man is taking the trade that sent him to the Nets like a trooper and a true professional.

The Brooklyn faithful should definitely see this as a positive sign. With the Nets coming off a season where they finished with the worst record in the NBA, the only way to go is up, and the 30-year-old 7-footer wants to be one of the factors to make that possible.