Timberwolves Get Cassell

The Minnesota Timberwolves traded forward Joe Smith and guard Anthony Peeler to the Milwaukee Bucks for guard Sam Cassell and center Ervin Johnson on Friday.

Cassell averaged 19.7 points for the Bucks last season, his 10th year in the league. He became expendable when the Bucks acquired veteran Gary Payton from Seattle last season.

“We want to put players on the floor, and that’s what Sammy is,” Timberwolf Coach Flip Saunders said.

The Timberwolves expect Cassell to play alongside point guard Troy Hudson and also relieve Hudson at the point.

Johnson averaged 2.2 points a game last year for the Bucks as a backup.

Smith sat out 26 games because of injuries last season for the Wolves, his eighth year in the league. He averaged 7.5 points and five rebounds a game.

Peeler, Minnesota’s all-time three-point field goal leader, averaged 7.7 points a game last season.

*

Sacramento King Coach Rick Adelman, entering the last year of a two-year deal, received a three-year contract extension.

Adelman, who has led the Kings to the Pacific Division title the last two seasons, has spent five seasons with the team. Last season, he became the 18th coach in NBA history to win 600 games.

“This is where I want to be,” said Adelman, who has a career record of 603-384 in 13 years as a coach. “I love the team, the city and the fans.”

*

With top pick LeBron James taking center stage, TV ratings for the NBA draft were the highest since 1997.

ESPN’s broadcast Thursday night drew a 2.64 rating, a 27.5% increase from last year’s 2.07 rating on TNT. This was the first year ESPN broadcast the NBA draft.

About 2.3 million households tuned into the telecast, making it the most-watched NBA draft since 1996. That was an increase of 28.1% from last year’s household count of about 1.8 million.