Milwaukee Bucks: Milt Newton linked to Chicago Bulls’ general manager search
According to a report by NBC Sports Chicago, Milwaukee Bucks assistant general manager Milt Newton has reportedly emerged as a candidate for the Chicago Bulls’ ongoing GM search.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ 2019-20 season may be stopped for the time being, but the rumor mill keeps on churning.
According to a report from K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, Bucks assistant general manager Milt Newton is linked to the Chicago Bulls’ ongoing GM search that is being helmed by new vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.
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Newton has held his position as Bucks assistant GM under Jon Horst since August of 2017 after previously being the GM of the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2013 to 2016.
Before that, Newton held the title of vice president of player personnel for the Washington Wizards from 2003 to 2013 before joining Flip Saunders in Minnesota.
Given just how his time in Minnesota ended, especially in light of Saunders’ untimely passing, Newton has been appreciative of what being in the Bucks’ front office has given him after being away from basketball for the 2016-17 season as he talked about with The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski ($) last year:
"“Being out that long, you appreciate it more,” Newton said. “But also I understand and realize that this is not a given. You could be out like that. You have to relish it while you’re in there and do the best job you can while you’re in. If the powers that be say the job you’re doing is not good enough, so be it. But you can walk away and say, ‘When I was in there, I gave it all I had and did the best I could.’“But this has been really great.”"
The Bulls’ search to overhaul their front office, which first led to the hiring of Karnisovas from Denver, has not been without some controversy as it relates to having a more diverse pool of candidates involved. Since then, Karnisovas has promised for an “extensive and diverse,” as he put it to Johnson in a one-on-one interview earlier this month, search to find the next GM of the Bulls.
Newton has previously talked about the NBA’s problems with diversity in this regard as he talked about with The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears back in September of 2016 following his outser from the Timberwolves:
"“A former GM who was successful and who once told me some years ago when I asked him, ‘Why is it difficult for minorities to get interviews for the top jobs?’ He told me that we have to be in a position where we can talk to owners,” he said. “They can sit down with us. Maybe have a beer with us. Get to know us to see that we’re capable and see that I can have a beer with this guy and relate to this guy.“Those opportunities are few and far in-between. It’s very rare for a final decision-maker to feel comfortable that a person not like them is capable of running their team.”"
Whether it’s the experience Newton has accrued in front offices and for the NBA itself for the last three decades and the success he’s experienced in Milwaukee, Newton is certainly a worthy candidate regardless of any parameters. To that point, Newton has spoken glowingly of the collaborative nature of Horst and the rest of the Bucks’ front office as he did to the Washington Post’s Ben Golliver during the Bucks’ spectacular run last year:
"“He’s very inclusive and asks opinions of everyone,” said Milt Newton, the Bucks’ assistant general manager who has worked in basketball since 1993. “The one thing I know about Jon and seen about Jon: The guy is very secure. He doesn’t have to be the one who came up with the solution. . . . His main concern is ‘Let’s get it right, and when we get it right everyone gets a little shine.”"
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With this being an ongoing process, we’ll certainly update Bucks fans with any reports on Newton’s involvement in the search as it continues in the coming weeks.