Point guard Mo Williams on Tuesday said he had agreed to a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, reuniting him with superstar LeBron James.
Williams, who averaged 14.2 points and 6.2 assists last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Hornets, played alongside James from 2008 to 2010 with the Cavaliers.
“I’m coming home!!!!! #cavsnation #cityilove #questforaring,” Williams tweeted.
Photo: AP
Williams will provide outside scoring as a backup to Kyrie Irving, who suffered a fractured kneecap in the NBA Finals.
However, the Cavaliers remain interested in keeping Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova, the hustling defender whose work in the Finals once Irving went down helped the Cavaliers force the Golden State Warriors to six games before losing.
Cleveland remains in talks with forward Tristan Thompson, and James has reportedly told the team to reach a deal with Thompson before worrying about trying to re-sign him.
James is expected to stay in Cleveland after leaving Miami in July last year to join the Cavaliers, his opting out of the contract seen as more of a leverage move to ensure the team’s signing of top talent than a quest for more money.
Williams was an All-Star in 2009 while playing for Cleveland. He averaged 17.8 points and connected on 43.6 percent of his three-point attempts while helping the Cavaliers go 66-16 and into the Eastern Conference finals.
Elsewhere in the NBA on Tuesday, Karl-Anthony Towns, the top pick in last month’s NBA Draft, has signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the club announced, while veteran center Kevin Garnett has agreed to return.
Garnett is set to play his 21st NBA campaign with the T-Wolves after returning last season in a trade with Brooklyn, but playing only five games due to injury.
The 39-year-old will be an important teacher to rookie big man Towns and a locker room leader after leading Boston to a 2008 NBA crown.
Free agents such as Garnett cannot sign contracts until today, but can agree to terms, while deals can be completed with draft picks such as Towns, a star for the University of Kentucky last season.
Towns joins last year’s top pick, Andrew Wiggins, and 2013 top pick Anthony Bennett on the roster, the other two obtained in a trade with Cleveland last year for Kevin Love. Minnesota are the first team in NBA history with three consecutive top picks in the same lineup.
Towns had 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.26 blocked shots a game for Kentucky last season.
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