Timberwolves Notes: Jimmy Jam and Milt Newton

While training camp continued on Wednesday, we’ve compiled some notes on a former Timberwolves super-fan and a former Wolves general manager.

Folks who have been Timberwolves fans for more than a decade no doubt remember the incredible bond that Kevin Garnett and Grammy Award-winning music producer Jimmy Jam had during KG’s heyday.

Jam hasn’t been around at all since Garnett was traded to Boston, but The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears caught up with him in the wake of the Timberwolves’ legend’s retirement, and Jimmy had a lot to say.

Check out this excerpt from the piece:

"I went to every [home] game [in Minnesota] and I used to drive my assistant crazy because whenever someone would say, ‘Can you come on this day to work on this project? Can we work on it this day?’ The first thing I would say to my assistant was, ‘Where are the Wolves that night?’ Or they would say, ‘Can you come to New York to work? Can you come to Atlanta to work?’ I would say, ‘When are the Wolves going to be in New York and when are the Wolves going to be in Atlanta and let’s plan it around that.’"

Not just in his native Minnesota, mind you, but Jimmy Jam was a huge fan of Garnett and the Timberwolves all across the country.

Jam also talked about when he first met Garnett.

"We were at a supermarket, Lunds & Byerlys in Minneapolis……I got out the car and I was looking and saying, ‘Is that Kevin?’ And then he was looking at me saying, ‘Ain’t that Jimmy Jam?’ We literally ended up standing in the parking lot and talked for an hour, maybe an hour and a half. What really impressed me about him was the questions he asked me. He asked me, ‘What do people expect from me in the community? What would they like to see?’I said, ‘People up here, because I grew up in Minnesota, they want you to keep your nose clean, work hard and give effort. That’s all they want. To be honest, that’s it. It’s a real simple mentality out here.’ And he said he always looked up to [former Minnesota Twins star] Kirby Puckett and the way he was revered. He said, ‘I want to be like Kirby Puckett. I want people to feel that way about me.’ I said, ‘Well, all you got to do is go out and do your job. You’ll get your charitable foundation and do what you need to do there. But every night you just have to leave it out there on the court.’"

I’d say that Garnett succeeded in being beloved by fans in Minnesota. Remember his first game back with the team in February of 2015? Beloved is probably an understatement.

It’a a great article with some fun insights from someone who is genuinely close to KG. Please give it a look when you have a few minutes.

More from Timberwolves News

• The dream starting 5 for Minnesota Timberwolves 5 years from now
• Anthony Edwards’ latest accolade is a great sign of things to come
• In an OT thriller, Team Canada snatches Bronze from Team USA
• Timberwolves start, bench, cut: Mike Conley, Shake Milton, Jordan McLaughlin
• Which Timberwolves roster additions have upgraded the bench?

Also from The Undefeated’s Spears, a fantastic feature column on former Timberwolves general manager Milt Newton, who was relieved of his duties a few weeks after the arrival of Tom Thibodeau and his new general manager, Scott Layden.

Spears begins the article in this way:

"Flip Saunders told Milt Newton several times that there were many people of color as qualified as their white male counterparts for positions as NBA general managers. Saunders would often point out Newton as an example of a qualified black man given an opportunity as the Minnesota Timberwolves general manager.“He was always for putting the best person, the most qualified person in the position,” Newton told The Undefeated. “In Washington, he saw that I was qualified. When he left Washington, he said, ‘Milt, I don’t know what I’ll be doing, but if I ever get back with a team and we can work together again and see if that’s something you want to do.’ He kept his word and he did it.”"

Newton talks about how difficult it was to be fired from a role that he knows he’d still have if Saunders had not passed away nearly a year ago — an understandably tough pill to swallow.

The article also deals with the issue of a league that is 75 percent black having only two African-American general managers as of today. Newton has an interesting take on that statistic, so please be sure to head over to The Undefeated to read Spears’ piece.

It’s impossible to know how much of the roster moves made with Flip Saunders as president of operations were initiated, steered, or influenced by Newton, but there is no evidence to suggest that he is not a good front office executive.

In the seven months or so that Newton was the top decision-maker in the Timberwolves baketball operations department, the only moves that he made related to waiving and buying out veterans like Andre Miller and Kevin Martin, who both joined the San Antonio Spurs for the playoffs.

There wasn’t much of consequence that Newton was asked to do, and it’s difficult to say what kind of a general manager he would be if given the keys to the show.

That said, I’ll be rooting for Newton to get another shot. There’s a lot of incompetency when it comes to NBA front offices, and Newton is a good guy with a solid track record. Someone should hire him, that’s for sure.

Next: Top-5 Kevin Garnett Games With The Timberwolves

Stay tuned for a few notes from day two of training camp, plus some more coaching staff news…