Wolves' Williams knows his many roles, and he's happy about them

Possessing a peace of mind that usually only comes with the passing of time and age, NBA veteran Mo Williams believes he knows why he's here.

Or at least he knows why he is with the Timberwolves.

Joining his seventh team in 12 NBA seasons, he signed with the Wolves in July because of his late-game reliability and all he has seen and done since his defensive play earned the second-round draft pick a pro job.

Now 31 and six weeks older than new teammate Kevin Martin, the starter at shooting guard, he's the oldest player on a team that could have seven rookies or second-year players on its opening-night roster two weeks from now.

He's also expected to be something of a mentor and that proverbial coach on the floor.

"I know. I relish that, I accept that," Williams said. "I come out here and run by these young guys all day. As long as I keep doing that, I won't mind anybody calling me the old guy."

He, of course, was once the young guy in a journey that has taken him from Utah and Milwaukee to Cleveland, Los Angeles and Portland as well as from reserve to starter to All-Star and back again.

Wolves President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders signed him after Williams didn't reach a contractual agreement to return to Portland and after negotiations to return home to Dallas failed.

Saunders, also the Wolves coach, wanted Williams on a team that would have won more than 41 games last season had it performed better at game's end. He sought a combo guard and another ball-handler beyond point guards Ricky Rubio and J.J. Barea who could make plays. He chose Williams to play beside Rubio and rookie Zach LaVine after Saunders was impressed by how Williams played alongside young Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard a season ago.

"I've been on all sides," said Williams, who played 2½ seasons off the ball with LeBron James in Cleveland and was chosen for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game. "I've been on bad teams. I've been on good teams. I've been on really good teams. I've been third guy off the bench — play some times and maybe I don't — and I've been a starter for every game, then an All-Star. Every experience a guy goes through, I've experienced some kind of way.

"If guys are going through something, I can see how they act and how they feel. I can give them experience from what I know or from what I learned from somebody else. Maybe I help them, maybe I don't. But at least someone is there to help give them a different point of view on things."

Williams played 29 minutes off the bench Friday in his preseason debut with the Wolves in their victory over Philadelphia. He played the entire fourth quarter with youngsters LaVine, Anthony Bennett, Gorgui Dieng and Andrew Wiggins before finishing with a game-high 19 points on 6-for-13 shooting.

He also had seven assists, six rebounds and three steals for a team he is expected to help lead.

"It's not a transition," he said of a leadership role. "That's just my personality. I think that's part of the reason Flip called me this summer. That's just my personality. It's not something I try to do. It just comes pretty natural."

Saunders sees in Williams what he saw in another point guard he once coached.

"He's one of those guys like Chauncey Billups who, when he wants, he can be a coach in this league," Saunders said.

Williams acknowledged that time indeed is coming, just not quite yet.

"I don't want to tell y'all that because y'all think I'll retire after this year, man," Williams said. "I've got some years left in me. But absolutely, they know that, a lot of coaches know it just because of my personality. In the summertime, I coach my AAU teams personally. I practice them personally. It's a passion. It's something when my legs say I can't do it no more and guys like Zach and Andrew keep coming into the league, I'll probably have to start coaching."

• Martin (groin) and forward Shabazz Muhammad (sore Achilles' tendon) only shot and walked through plays Monday without doing any live action again. Saunders said it's still possible one or both will play Friday against Milwaukee in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.