Philadelphia 76ers: Shake Milton is absolutely worth $1.9 million

According to Keith Pompey, the Philadelphia 76ers have a very detailed to-do list at the start of the summer.

They will likely have to account for James Harden picking up his option, will pursue trading Tobias Harris either for veteran pieces or as a cap dump, and could say goodbye to roleplayers like Furkan Korkmaz, Danny Green, and Shake Milton.

… what? Shake Milton, star of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals? The Sixers want to say goodbye to him?

Hold onto your butts because it gets worse; not only could the Sixers opt to trade Milton this offseason, but they reportedly don’t plan on picking up his team option even if a deal fails to materialize; sending the 6-foot-5 combo guard to the open market to save $1.9 million.

*sigh* Shake Milton is definitely worth more than $1.9 million, the Philadelphia 76ers.

Shake Milton was a top-8 performer for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2021-22.

After delivering a run for the ages in the spring of 2020 as the surprise backcourt focal point of Brett Brown’s final season, Shake Milton’s time with the Philadelphia 76ers has been sort of underwhelming.

Yes, his production in 2020-21 was impressive, with some tabbing the SMU product a darkhorse candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, but his efficiency dropped notably across the board from his high water mark the season prior and his role, especially in the playoffs, suffered as a result.

Fast forward to the fall of 2021, and conventional wisdom suggested that it would be Milton, not Tyrese Maxey, who would get the first nod at replacing Ben Simmons in the starting lineup, which, to be fair, is sort of what happened. However, as the summer and preseason wore on, it became clear that Maxey was the man for the job, and thus, Milton again found himself a sixth man coming off the bench.

Had Milton remained healthy and productive in that role, we’d probably be talking about contract extensions instead of potential trades right about now, but alas, it just wasn’t meant to be; Milton suffered a few injuries, most notably a back injury around New Years, that held him out of action for a chunk of games in the middle of the season and when he returned, his production wasn’t quite there. Though Milton heated up late and played well with James Harden in the postseason, his stock didn’t rebound nearly as well.

And yet, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited about Milton in 2022-23, especially if he’s still on the Sixers.

As a third guard, Milton is a pretty good option. He’s big enough to play the two next to Maxey and a good enough secondary playmaker to help elevate Harden’s game when the duo share the court. Though he isn’t a traditional point guard like, say, T.J. McConnell, Milton has developed as a passer, and, as he’s become more and more experienced at the NBA level, his vision as a playmaker has taken a step forward too. At just 25, Milton still has some room to grow and should remain a viable NBA performer for years to come.

Between you and me, that feels like the sort of player teams should want to hold onto, not release for nothing.

If the Philadelphia 76ers aren’t as high on Shake Milton as their fans and think they can get value back for his contract, then sure, trade him away and reap the benefits; not every player is a fit in every scheme, and the Sixers need well-fitting players in the worst way. But to just move off of Milton for nothing? Well, that makes about as much sense as letting the Al Horford trade exception expire without bringing in a veteran performer to either fill out the rotation or serve as a matching salary in a future trade.