On the verge of signing Billups, Mitchell stated, Saunders sought counsel from Timberwolves gamers resembling Mitchell, level guard Terrell Brandon and All-Star Kevin Garnett. Mitchell, Brandon and Garnett had been assured that the newcomer would do nicely in Minneapolis, and Billups and Garnett had been shut pals courting again to their AAU days. The Timberwolves signed Billups to a three-year contract for the wage cap exception, paying $2.25 million within the first 12 months. “Flip was like, ‘They are saying he’s egocentric. They are saying he’s this, they are saying he’s that,’ ” Mitchell recalled. “And I stated, ‘Flip, I don’t know him. However why don’t you give him an opportunity?’ So, when he received right here, Chauncey instructed me that when he was in Boston, Toronto and Denver, they gave up on him as a degree guard they usually simply instructed him simply are available in and attempt to rating. In order that’s what he did. “And then when he came to Minnesota, I said, ‘Dude, if you really want to learn how to play the position, and if you really want to change how people think of you, you see that guy right there, Terrell Brandon, watch everything he does and talk to him. He’s a pure point guard …’ Chauncey told me, ‘I want to play the position. No one has ever taught me the position.’ ” -via Andscape / October 11, 2024
