Mo Williams fondly recalls time with Wolves

Mo Williams wasn't with the Timberwolves very long. But he left with an appreciation for the fans and a huge amount of respect for Wolves coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders.

He also left with a record.

Williams, a backup point guard signed before the season, was traded along with Troy Daniels to Charlotte for Gary Neal and a second-round draft pick. It was a deal that made sense for both teams. With Kemba Walker injured, the Hornets needed a veteran guard. The Wolves, in full build-for-the future mode, were looking to give rookie Zach LaVine more playing time.

"Flip did great by me," Williams said. "I remember the phone call the day I got graded. He said I deserved to be in a position, at this point in my career, to be playing for something. He understood there was a youth movement going on here, and that Zach needed to play. He said he couldn't look me in the eye every day knowing I should be on the floor. I respect him a lot for that."

So Williams went to Charlotte, which is still battling for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

Williams averaged 12.2 points and 6.4 assists in 41 games with the Wolves. In 15 games with Charlotte he has averaged 19.1 points and 7.3 assists. With Walker back healthy, Williams has been moved to the second unit.

"It's nice to be playing for something," Williams said. "To be in a position to just be a factor, it means something, absolutely."

"We didn't trade him because he wasn't a good player. We traded him because of where we were at the time," Saunders said.

There is one other thing Williams left with: A record.

Williams had a career night in Indianapolis Jan. 13 when he made 19 of 33 shots, six of 11 three-pointers and scored a franchise-record 52 points in a 110-101 victory that ended a 15-game losing streak.

"That is the game to remember," he said. "I cherish that night. It was just meant to happen. I remember, before the game, I didn't even go warm up. I showed up, sat at my locker, texted and watched some YouTube videos, relaxed and played the game."

Former Wolves star Christian Laettner attended Sunday's game, which ended a weekend's return in which he led team-run youth camps and spoke to local coaches and season-ticket holders.

"My biggest regret in life — well, one of them — is that I wasn't muskie fishing here from '92 to '96 when I was not married, I was a bachelor," he said. "I could have spent a whole month up at the Lake of the Woods by myself, but instead I was wasting my time golfing at [Lake Elmo's] Indian Hills Golf Club. But ever since then, I've been addicted to it, obsessed with it …

"Just about every camp, all the clinics I do, I try to make sure they're in muskie states so when I'm not on the court working, I can be on the boat fishing. So this is bad timing because there's ice on the lakes right now."

• The same seven players — Anthony Bennett, Kevin Garnett, Justin Hamilton, Robbie Hummel, Shabazz Muhammad, Nikola Pekovic and Rubio — all missed Sunday's game due to injury or illness.

• Neal left the game with in the fourth quarter because of a sprained ankle. It is not the ankle that Neal had been dealing with of late.