Via comments made on the recent episode of The Lowe Post, Milwaukee Bucks assistant general manager Milt Newton was a candidate to join the Philadelphia 76ers’ front office under Elton Brand.
Change has been inevitable when it comes to discussing the Milwaukee Bucks and their monumental offseason this year.
Much of that talk has revolved around the Bucks’ roster and potentially their coaching staff, but the same applies to their front office as well. And according to some rumors, the Bucks almost lost an integral member within general manager Jon Horst’s front office team.
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Per comments made by Yaron Weitzman on the most recent episode of ‘The Lowe Post’ hosted by ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Bucks assistant general manager Milt Newton was a candidate that Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand was supposedly looking at before their latest front office shakeup:
"“All the while, Elton was conducting interviews for not only assistant GM types, but he’s also talking to people who were going to be, I can use a name here, Milt Newton, who is the assistant general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks.He ends up talking to Elton and the Sixers. You don’t do a lateral move, so if you do that, (Newton) would have been GM and Elton would have been promoted to (president of basketball operations.”"
Of course, these details emerge on the heels of the 76ers’ bringing in former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey Wednesday, who will reportedly act as the team’s new president of basketball operations as first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
This isn’t the first time Newton has been reported to be a GM candidate since landing with the Milwaukee Bucks more than three years ago.
Newton had been previously linked to the Chicago Bulls’ general manager position earlier this year before Marc Eversley took the role under Arturas Karnisovas, the Bulls’ vice president of basketball operations.
Speaking more generally, the Bucks’ front office already looks different than to where it was starting the season. During the league’s hiatus last season, former Bucks director of basketball strategy David Mincberg departed the organization to become an assistant general manager with the Detroit Pistons.
Still, it is interesting to hear Newton was being considered for a promotion, especially for someone that can be viewed as a Bucks rival. Newton has long talked about his ambitions to be an NBA GM again since being fired by the Minnesota Timberwolves back in May of 2016.
With that said, Newton has spoken very positively of the collaborative environment that Horst has put in place as Newton told the following to Gary Bedore of the Kansas City Star earlier this year:
"“It is a ‘we’ environment here, a collaborative environment. I’m really fortunate to be part of this group,” Newton told The Star in a recent phone interview, in which he spread the credit around for Milwaukee’s current success.“I’ve been in the league a long time. I’ve seen a lot of management styles. I’ve been involved in a lot of management styles. I’ve learned a lot in terms of how to effectively manage a team,” added Newton, a starter on KU’s 1988 NCAA title team who also held the title of vice president of player personnel for the Washington Wizards from 2003 to 2013.“We’ve got young guys here who are very smart (GM Horst is 37). Hearing everyone’s viewpoint and opinion is how you grow. I want to grow in any situation. Working here has helped me grow as a manager. Like they say, when you win, everyone gets a little credit. It doesn’t change in this situation,” Newton added.”"
Newton continues to wait to get his shot at being an NBA GM again, but for now, being the assistant GM of a Bucks team that still looks to contend for next year’s NBA title is far from half-bad.