Milt Newton, a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands and former executive with the NBA’s Wizards, was named the Timberwolves general manager about 13 months ago. Fans and media are still becoming acquainted with Newton who is in the shadow of Flip Saunders, the franchise’s minority owner, president of basketball operations and head coach. The revamped Timberwolves open the regular season tonight at Memphis, and earlier this week Sports Headliners asked Newton to fill in the blanks on various basketball and personal topics to better understand who he is.
I will be surprised if the Wolves’ record this season is not: “Close or better than it was last year (40-42).”
When Sports Illustrated’s NBA preview issue predicted the Wolves will finish 14th out of 15 Western Conference teams: “I thought first of all, who is qualified on that staff to make that decision? Two, they don’t know the hearts of the players on our team—or the knowledge in our coaching staff—so you can’t necessarily make a judgment until you know the guys in the locker room.”
You can bet your last dollar the Timberwolves will: “Be exciting to watch.”
My first impression of 2014 NBA No. 1 draft choice Andrew Wiggins—acquired by the Wolves in the Kevin Love deal—was: “Ultra athletic, smooth and incredible potential to be a star.”
The two teams I see in the NBA Finals next spring: “I am gonna have to go with the San Antonio Spurs and with the Cleveland Cavs because of LeBron (James). The winner (NBA champions) is the San Antonio Spurs.”
Where do you rank former Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love with the best at his position in the NBA? “I would say top 10 (in history). I would put him in the top three to top five (among power forwards today).”
The thing that is challenging about the Ricky Rubio contract negotiations: “Parties involved.”
What’s weird about Flip is: “He’s fidgety. When he’s standing, he’s moving his leg or when he’s sitting he’s tapping his legs, or he’s moving his hand.”
The best thing about my job: “Working with great staff (and) being around great players—still being involved with the game and seeing the best athletes in the world compete on a nightly basis.”
I spend most of my time as GM: “Communicating with our players and with our staff. In the communications you’re (sometimes) putting out fires or potential fires. …”
If I were Milt Newton’s boss I would praise him for: “His accountability and his responsibility to his job.”
What surprises me about Minneapolis is: “How it can get so cold in the winter time, and also the ‘Minnesota nice’ (reputation) that I’ve heard is actually true.”
The dream vacation for me: “My wife and I probably in Tahiti. Been married for 20 years (to Shalaun).”
My worst habit is probably: “My impatience when my kids don’t so something I ask them to do the first time.”
The best meal on the planet: “My mom’s chili, and the butter knife steak from Murray’s is a close second.”
If I could invite five people to dinner who are alive today, or from history, they would be: “No. 1 Jesus Christ. I would like to talk to Muhammad Ali…Arthur Ashe…Bruce Lee, I am a big martial arts fan…(and) Mother Teresa.”
The best NBA team I ever saw: “Probably the Lakers with James Worthy, Magic (Johnson), Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar), Michael Cooper (and) Byron Scott because they were ‘Showtime’ (and) they won. They made it look exciting. They made it look classy but you could see behind the play that they were definitely a team that cared about each other.”
The best NBA player I ever saw: “I am gonna have to go with my idol, Dr. J. He (Julius Erving) had a flair for the game. To me I thought he was one of the better ambassadors of the game. He cared about the game (and) how he carried himself on the floor—exciting, graceful. He was the one that brought the NBA to a level in the public’s eye where it was exciting to watch.”