Shake Milton will not stick with the Sixers.
The 26-year-old combo guard has agreed to join the Timberwolves on a two-year, $10 million contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday night. Milton’s deal has a team option in Year 2, The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski reported.
The Sixers traded the 56th and 60th picks in the 2018 NBA draft to acquire Milton at No. 54. He rose from a two-way contract player with a locker next to Joel Embiid’s focused on being “a star in the role that I have right now” to a playoff starter in his second year.
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Milton’s path wasn’t linear — he suffered untimely injuries and didn’t often have a consistent, sustained role — but the SMU product had some memorable moments for the Sixers. They included a 39-point day against the Clippers in 2020, a rescue act in Game 2 of the Sixers’ 2021 playoff series vs. the Hawks, and a half-court Christmas heave last season. (He joked that the very long-range shot at Madison Square Garden to beat the halftime buzzer was "a hundred percent skill.”)
Though he played a career-high 76 games in the 2022-23 season and generally fared well in shorthanded situations, Milton wasn’t part of head coach Doc Rivers’ playoff rotation.
All told, Milton appeared in 254 games as a Sixer and averaged 9.3 points on 45.5/36.5/82.8 shooting splits, 2.7 assists, and 2.4 rebounds.
With Milton exiting, the current guards on the Sixers’ roster are Tyrese Maxey, De’Anthony Melton, James Harden, and Jaden Springer. The Sixers are taking trade calls for Harden.