MINNEAPOLIS - Desperate for an experienced, reliable point guard, the Minnesota Timberwolves went and got the best one left on the free-agent market on Tuesday.
They reached an agreement with Mike James on a four-year deal, James' agent told The Associated Press.
James, who is coming off a career year for the Toronto Raptors, will get the Timberwolves' full mid-level exception, which is worth about $5 million in 2006-07.
The veteran averaged a career-high 20.3 points and 5.8 assists for the Raptors last season and instantly solidifies the Timberwolves' shaky point guard situation.
Before signing James, the Wolves had injury-prone veteran Troy Hudson, inconsistent Marko Jaric and rookie lottery pick Randy Foye as their primary ballhandlers.
Former MVP Kevin Garnett pleaded with Timberwolves' management to surround him with more veterans after the team missed the playoffs for the second straight season in 2005-06. And Garnett made a personal call to James on Tuesday morning to convince the 31-year-old spark plug to come to Minnesota.
"They had a great conversation and that meant a lot to Mike," James' agent, Bill Duffy, said. "Garnett told him he needed him there. That says a lot about Garnett to do that and it says a lot about Mike that Garnett wanted him."
Timberwolves spokesman Mike Cristaldi said the team could not comment during the NBA's moratorium on free agency, which ends Wednesday.
It's been quite a rise for James, who was undrafted out of Duquesne and started his NBA career as a free agent with Miami in 2001. He bounced around to Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee and Houston over the next four years before bursting onto the scene with the woeful Raptors last season.
In his first full season as a starter, James ranked fourth in the league in 3-point shooting (44 percent) and 11th in 3-pointers made (169), becoming one of the most coveted point guards on the free agent market this offseason.
The Rockets and Mavericks also were in contention for his services.
James' shooting prowess was one of his biggest selling points for the Wolves, who are in desperate need of quality perimeter shooters to stretch the floor and take pressure off of Garnett in the post. They traded sharpshooter Wally Szczerbiak to Boston at midseason, lost 3-point specialist Fred Hoiberg to retirement after a heart ailment and will be without top rookie Rashad McCants until at least mid-December while he recovers from microfracture surgery on his right knee.
The Timberwolves swapped lottery picks with Portland on draft night to acquire Foye, but the Villanova guard is more of a slasher than a 3-point shooter. The team is also unaware when Hudson, the only other reliable 3-point threat on the roster, will be ready to return from a bothersome right ankle injury that limited him to 36 games last season.
James should help fill that void while providing the up-tempo style that coach Dwane Casey wants to install in a team that too often got bogged down in the halfcourt last season.
The deal also jeopardizes Marcus Banks' future in Minnesota. Banks came over from Boston in the Szczerbiak trade and was up and down as the Timberwolves' starting point guard. Vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale had said re-signing Banks was a priority, but now the team has a glut at point guard with James, Jaric, Hudson and Foye.
Banks' agent, Michael Higgins, did not immediately a return phone call from The Associated Press.
Duffy said James can't wait to start feeding Garnett in the post.
"He has a lot of respect for Garnett," Duffy said. "It looks like it should be a good fit."
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AP Sports Writer Jaime Aron in Dallas contributed to this report.
