Philadelphia 76ers: Shake Milton and the importance of draft assets

Coming off an unprecedented 39-point performance, Shake Milton means more to the Philadelphia 76ers than his play on the court.

Of all things that could have happened in the Philadelphia 76ers’ Sunday matinee vs. the Los Angeles Clippers, Shake Milton‘s outburst was quite low on the totem pole. The second-year guard was really the only thing keeping Philly from a predictable outcome: being blown out on the road.

Legally known as Malik Milton, he got his nickname from his mother as a testament to her husband, whose nickname was “Milk Man,” per NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Serena Winters. The shifty guard out of Southern Methodist University is finally getting a chance to shine, and he was luminous on Sunday.

Milton got buckets in all kinds of ways at the Staples Center. From step-back threes to end-of-shot-clock layups to heat checks that weren’t supposed to go in, the former G-Leaguer couldn’t miss. He finished with 39 points on just 20 field goals, making 14 of those 20 while also hitting seven of nine 3-pointers.

Though he probably won’t hit that type of high again, he adds an element the Philadelphia 76ers don’t have. Philly doesn’t have a single guard on the roster who can shoot, handle and score like Milton, even though that skill set would fit quite well with the Sixers’ best two players.

I already did a long-winded critique of how the roster was built last week, and Milton’s ascent speaks to a related issue.

Milton is one of several hits the Sixers have made with late draft picks. Selected at 54th overall in 2018, it would have been predictable for him to never give the Sixers meaningful minutes. But he has, which can also be said for: Furkan Korkmaz (26th overall in 2016), Landry Shamet (26th in 2018) and Matisse Thybulle (20th in 2019). Getting value at those spots is really tough, but the Sixers have done it more often than you’d think.

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The problem is that they don’t make enough of those selections. In 2017 they traded away picks that became Jawun Evans and Sterling Brown, opting to keep Anzejs Pasecniks (renounced last July), Jonah Bolden (cut this month) and Mathias Lessort (never coming over). 2018 saw them trade the picks that turned into Khyri Thomas and Isaac Bonga while trading up for Milton.

In 2019 they only used one of their four second rounders, trading one in the Thybulle deal (Carsen Edwards), another for future picks (Bruno Fernando), and a third to get off Jonathon Simmons‘ $1 million cap hit (Admiral Schofield). They very easily could have found at least one more bench piece with one of those picks.

Then again, it’s not realistic to keep every asset. An NBA roster can only carry 17 players, and not all of them are comfortable on two-way contracts. It’s also important to surround the franchise pillars with veterans who know their roles. But with all the success this front office has late in the draft, it’s confusing why they don’t value those selections more.

When also factoring in all the money the Sixers have committed to their core, finding cost-controlled players should be a priority. The draft is by far the easiest way to do that, yet this team consistently burns its later picks for cash and future selections.

Philly has three second-round picks in the upcoming draft: via the Atlanta Hawks, the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers. Using more than one of them would be nice considering its likelihood of hitting on one.