Roger Montgomery, Maurice Evans' agent, said Saturday the Kings have not aggressively attempted to retain his client.

"Based on their recent acquisitions," Montgomery said, "I would have to infer the Kings are not really into re-signing Maurice. They have not been proactive pre-Bonzi Wells and post-Bonzi Wells. So I'm led to infer they have other plans that don't include Maurice."

The Timberwolves, Spurs, Pistons and Sonics all appear interested in Evans.

Former Orlando Magic head coach Johnny Davis was hired Saturday as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves under new coach Dwane Casey.

Davis, who has spent 28 years in the NBA as a player, coach and front office executive, was fired by the Magic last March. Davis, who was also the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1996-97 season, went 51-84 with the Magic after taking over for Doc Rivers in November 2003.

Davis spent 10 seasons as a player in the NBA with four different teams and then was an assistant for 12 seasons for five different teams.

Mark Madsen, a valuable reserve for the Minnesota Timberwolves for the past two seasons, has agreed to a five-year contract to remain with the team, Madsen said Saturday.

Madsen, a free agent, is a strong rebounder and defender coming off the bench. He had surgery in March to repair a ruptured ligament in his shooting wrist and was clearly missed by Minnesota, which failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1996.

"I'm extremely excited to be back in Minnesota," the 6-9, 245-pound forward said.

Madsen was being wooed by other teams ? reportedly Washington and Utah ? but he felt staying in Minnesota was the best fit. He had contact with coach Dwane Casey and vice president for basketball operations Kevin McHale during the negotiation process, and he said a call from team owner Glen Taylor was especially important to him.

Undrafted Saint Joseph's center Dwayne Jones has found a home with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The two sides have agreed on a four-year deal.

The first two years of the deal are guaranteed for a total of about $1.1 million. The Wolves hold team options for the third year at more than $700,000 and the fourth year at more than $800,000. The fourth year could be guaranteed if Jones reaches minimum benchmarks in areas such as rebounding and games played during the third season.

The Timberwolves on Thursday agreed to a contract with free-agent forward Nikoloz Tskitishvili and have made offers to free-agent forwards Eddie Griffin and Mark Madsen.

Tskitishvili had 25 points and 10 rebounds last Friday in his summer league debut with the Wolves. He broke a bone in his right hand in his second game and will be out about four weeks. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

"However they want to use me, they can use me," Tskitishvili said of his role with the Wolves during a phone interview. "I can do everything. I can be a rebounder. I can be a low post player if I work on my post moves more this summer. I can be a shooter. I'm ready for everything."

The Denver Nuggets picked Tskitishvili fifth overall in the 2002 NBA draft. He averaged three points and 11.9 minutes in his first three seasons. In February, Denver traded him to Golden State in a package that involved Eduardo Najera.

Tskitishvili, 7 feet, 225 pounds, is most well known for his shooting ability. He is only 22 years old, and the Wolves believe he has talent and potential. Rex Kalamian, who helped coach the Wolves' summer league team, spoke highly of Tskitishvili last week but said being consistent has been his biggest challenge.

"I really like all the coaches," Tskitishvili said. "It seemed like they really cared about me. I loved the way the fans were excited about me when I was playing there."

Flip Saunders was fired as Timberwolves coach on Feb. 12. On Thursday, he was hired as coach of the Detroit Pistons, who won the 2004 NBA title and came within one game of repeating that feat this season.

On more than one occasion, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor talked to Saunders to see if he was interested in returning to coach the Wolves this season. Saunders had been replaced on an interim basis by Kevin McHale, team VP of basketball operations.

"I talked to him generally about if he wanted to consider that," Taylor said Thursday. "Kevin and I said we would talk to him. But he just said he thought not. We never pursued it any farther. I don't think we really parted under the worst circumstances. It was kind of like, if he wanted to come back and look at some changes and do some things. ... He just said he thought it would be hard to do, and I never pressed it after that."

Saunders is so highly regarded in the NBA that there never was any doubt he was going to get a top job again.

Pistons coach Larry Brown burned his bridges in Detroit even before this season. And once it appeared that Brown was gone, there was no doubt that Joe Dumars, Pistons president of basketball operations, was going to hire Saunders. All that was necessary was to agree on a contract.

According to St Paul Pioneer Press writer Rick Alonzo, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said Monday that team officials have not talked to free agent Latrell Sprewell's representative about a new contract.

Don't expect that to change.

"We made an offer last year, and he said it wasn't enough," Taylor said, referring to a three-year, $21 million proposal that Sprewell turned down. "So we haven't pursued it."

Sprewell said he was insulted by the offer last season and that he had a family to feed.

Taylor wouldn't rule out Sprewell returning. But with no talks taking place between the parties, that prospect remains unlikely.

Marko Jaric, a restricted free agent from the Los Angeles Clippers, might be one of the Wolves' primary targets this offseason. Jaric, a 6-7 guard capable of playing both backcourt spots, is represented by agent Bill Duffy, who confirmed Minnesota's interest.

"That would be a great fit," Duffy said. "It's a pretty aggressive market, but we'll try to be creative with every team."

Jaric, 26, averaged 9.9 points, 6.1 assists and 1.68 steals for the Clippers last season, his third in the NBA.

Once the NBA's signing period begins Friday, the Clippers would have seven days to match any offer to Jaric. But a sign-and-trade might satisfy Los Angeles, and the Wolves could enlist a third club to provide a piece, if needed, via a multi-team deal.

But signing Jaric outright would be difficult because most or all of the Wolves' midlevel salary cap exception -- $5 million starting salary -- is believed to be earmarked for forward Eddie Griffin.

Minnesota Timberwolves vice president Kevin McHale spoke with free-agent forward ?Mad-Dog? Mark Madsen during Friday evening's summer league opener pitting the T-Wolves against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Target Center.

"We're on the same page, basically working together trying to get it done," Madsen said. "From day one, Kevin's been great, told me he's interested, and it's been a pleasure going through the process. I'm not trying to push for anything. Basically, I'm just trying to find out where I'll be playing next year. I love it here."

Madsen has heard from San Antonio, Utah, Golden State, Seattle and Atlanta thus far.

Wolves free agent Eddie Griffin has been close to signing a $5 million per season, multiyear contract with the team.

He was jailed last week for violating his probation.