Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is keeping General Manager Milt Newton on through the draft and into free agency. But the decision on the future of interim coach Sam Mitchell ultimately will rest with Taylor.
Taylor, not Newton, will probably decide on Wolves coach
March 27, 2016 at 5:18AM
Talking before Saturday's game with Utah at Target Center, Taylor was asked if Newton's job would include a final decision on Mitchell.
"That's a good question — I think [he will be] part of the process," Taylor, who also owns the Star Tribune, said of Newton. "Certainly it starts with Milt. But I don't want to say it's his call. It's probably my call.''
Taylor said Friday that Newton will run the franchise in the lead-up to the draft, on draft night and during July free agency. But, given how difficult it is to judge a draft class right away, Taylor added some clarity to how he will evaluate Milton.
"I'll just keep communicating with him," Taylor said. "How he's going to go through the process, how he's going to do it. I mean, I know how Kevin [McHale] did it, I know how David [Kahn] did it. I know how Flip [Saunders] did it. So I'll have to see how Milt does it. I think a lot of it is not so much the result [of the draft] but the process he uses. Any judgment will be based upon that. He has the same staff that Flip had, so I'll be surprised if it will be greatly different. So I'll just watch the process.''
Asked if the timetable didn't put the team at risk of losing a season should Newton ultimately not be kept on, Taylor demurred.
"I don't want to answer that,'' he said.
Finally, Taylor said that he expects Newton to talk with people who have mentored him throughout his career but doesn't expect any consultants to be hired by the team.
"You don't want Milt to go out there by himself," Taylor said. "He has a good staff. But this is the first time he's the chief, and I would expect him to go back to the people he knows. And I would give him points for that.''
Inside stuff
Wolves rookie Nemanja Bjelica's 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting were his most in a game since Feb. 8 against New Orleans, and this time, Mitchell saw something new.
"Like I told Belli after the game, all the baskets he scored were inside," Mitchell said. "That's different for him. He has been working on his game, on getting inside."
Bjelica's first NBA season has been sidetracked by injuries and foul trouble. He did not play by coach's decision three out of the past five games.
"It's good for me because finally I get some confidence," Bjelica said. "I make some easy layups. I feel very good on the court. Tyus [Jones] hit me a couple times. It's not like I need to shoot every time, looking for three as the first option."
Etc.
• The Wolves entered Saturday's game with three players averaging 20 points per game or more in the month of March. Karl-Anthony Towns was averaging 22.6 points and 10.5 rebounds. Both Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine were averaging 20.3 points each.
After trailing from the first basket to the final 69 ticks, the Timberwolves defeated a Phoenix team that lacked key players but had Devin Booker, who scored 44 points.
