Shake Milton

Milton has been in a relatively steady backup guard role for the 76ers over the past three seasons. In those 158 appearances, he's averaged 10.4 points on 45/37/82 shooting, 2.8 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 21.8 minutes. Last season, he ranked 303rd in per-game fantasy value in eight-category roto leagues, and he's never ranked higher than 212th. That shouldn't change this season. Tyrese Maxey and James Harden will take up most of the minutes in the backcourt, and Milton will compete against De'Anthony Melton, Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz for reserve minutes. Melton may have an inside track for more minutes, given his defensive upside. As a result, Milton can be ignored in most fantasy leagues. He may not be an every-game player.

Milton again played a light sixth-man role for the 76ers last year, though his workload fluctuated significantly throughout the season. The reserve guard appeared in 64 games and averaged 13.0 points, 3.1 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 23.2 minutes, though both his field-goal percentage (45.0) and three-point percentage (35.0) took dips compared to 2019-20. Ultimately, he ranked 212th in per-game fantasy value. As the team stands heading into training camp, Milton appears to be in line for the same role. However, with the continuous rumors of Ben Simmons and the Sixers hoping to part ways, there's always a chance for Milton to receive increased minutes. At the same time, the Sixers would likely be trading for another point guard, so Milton's chances of starting are probably slim. Aggressive fantasy managers in deep formats can take a chance on the 25-year-old with a final pick, but the payoff will heavily depend on how the Simmons situation gets resolved.

The fact that Milton, the 54th pick in the 2018 draft, emerged as a starter for the Sixers down the stretch after spending the early part of the season out of the rotation entirely or even in the G League says something about the team's overall struggles, though it also says plenty about Milton's development. His primary contribution came as the team's best three-point shooter, as he led the Sixers in three-point percentage with a 43.0 percent mark. That's well above his 31.8 percent mark as a rookie, though that came in a small sample of just 268 minutes and was out of line with his college numbers, as he shot 42.3 percent or better from downtown in each of his three seasons at SMU. He also shot an impressive 53.5 percent from inside the arc last season, second only to Ben Simmons among the team's regular rotation players. Milton's 2.6 assists per game (in 20.1 minutes) is a fairly low total for a nominal point guard, though anyone who fills that role while Simmons is on the court will likely see their ball-handling duties reduced. Milton's likely role this season is as a useful third guard who can handle the ball a bit and knock down open shots, though there's, in theory, more upside here if he takes another step forward in his role or development.

Milton logged 20 games as a rookie second-round pick last season, averaging 4.4 points (on 39.1 percent shooting) and 1.8 rebounds across 13.4 minutes. The SMU product was a lights-out three-point shooter in college, shooting over 40.0 percent from three-point range in each of his seasons with the Mustangs. Given his limited playing time in his first pro campaign, Milton didn't have much of a chance to develop his marksmanship at the pro level, draining 31.8 percent of his 2.2 three-point attempts per game. Milton did show plenty of promise while suiting up for 27 games as a member of the G League's Delaware Blue Coats, averaging 24.9 points (on 48.4 percent shooting, including 36.7 percent from three-point range), 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals across 34.7 minutes. The 22-year-old didn't manage a successful encore in Las Vegas Summer League play, however, shooting an abysmal 17.0 percent across 22.0 minutes over three games before suffering an ankle sprain. Looking ahead to the 2019-20 campaign, Milton could be in line for a nice bump in opportunity in the wake of T.J. McConnell's offseason departure, which opens up a prominent spot in the backcourt rotation. The second-year pro will have plenty of competition for minutes at point guard behind Ben Simmons from young veterans Trey Burke and Raul Neto, with the depth chart -- and by extension, Milton's role and destination to open the season -- likely to become increasingly clear over the course of training camp and preseason.