Smith Re-Signs With Timberwolves

Joe Smith loves playing forward alongside Kevin Garnett and he likes the direction the Minnesota Timberwolves are heading.

“I definitely could have gotten a better deal elsewhere, but this wasn’t about my financial state,” Smith said Tuesday after signing a one-year, $2.2-million contract with the Timberwolves in Minneapolis. “When I came here last year I wanted to put the fun back in the game and be on a team that plays hard every night. I found that here. I like playing with Kevin and I like playing for [Coach] Flip Saunders.”

Smith, 24, acknowledged that it would be nice to sign an extension during the upcoming season.

Smith, the No. 1 pick in the 1995 draft who joined the team as a free agent from Philadelphia, appeared in 43 games for the Timberwolves last season, averaging 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots as a replacement for Tom Gugliotta.

*

A day after his kidney transplant, San Antonio Spur forward Sean Elliott was moved out of a hospital intensive care unit and was on his way to a full recovery.

Elliott underwent the transplant Monday at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital. His 32-year-old brother, Noel, donated one of his kidneys.

“I think they’re on the way toward a routine recovery,” Dr. Francis Wright said.

Elliott, 31, may be hospitalized for about a week; his brother could go home by the end of this week.

*

Mike Fratello, fired as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers in June, signed a multiyear deal to return to broadcasting with Turner Sports.

Fratello replaces Doc Rivers, who left Turner to become coach of the Orlando Magic.

Fratello was an NBA analyst for NBC from 1990-93 and worked for Turner during the playoffs from 1994-96.

*

The Phoenix Suns re-signed point guard Randy Livingston to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed. Livingston was first signed as a backup to Jason Kidd before the Suns’ 1998-99 regular-season finale. He joined the Suns from Sioux Falls of the Continental Basketball Assn. . . . The Washington Wizards signed free-agent forward Aaron Williams, 28, to a reported two-year, $2.3-million deal.