Shake Milton

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.