In late December, when the Los Angeles Lakers were starting to overcome their first slump of this season, they traded struggling guard D’Angelo Russell, little-used forward Maxwell Lewis and multiple future second-round draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets for forward Dorian Finney-Smith.

At the time, the Lakers were a weak defensive team, but Finney-Smith started their transformation into a team that, at times, played outstanding defense for extended stretches. He was the type of 3-and-D wing they had badly needed for a few years.

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But he wasn’t the only player they received in that trade. They also obtained Shake Milton, a 28-year-old guard who was in his seventh season out of Southern Methodist University.

Milton was a promising young player with the Philadelphia 76ers a few years ago, and during the 2020-21 season, he averaged 13.0 points in 23.2 minutes a game, which got him some votes for the Sixth Man of the Year award. There was a slight hope that he could contribute for Los Angeles upon his arrival.

Shake Milton’s season stats

In 30 regular-season games with the Lakers, Milton averaged 3.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 11.5 minutes a game and shot 43.3% from the field and 29.4% from 3-point range. For the season as a whole, he registered 5.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 14.7 minutes a game and shot 45.3% from the field and 35.8% from 3-point range.

Overall analysis

As time went on, Lakers fans discovered first-hand that Milton could be best described as a tease. Every now and then, he will have a game where he is productive offensively and gives a team a boost off the bench, but all too often, he seems invisible when he’s on the court.

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He’s a decent 3-point shooter but nothing special, he can attack off the dribble and score, but he’s nothing special in that regard, he can hit the open man on occasion, but he’s not a facilitator, and he’s anemic on the defensive end. He also isn’t the most aggressive player from game to game.

On Jan. 30 in a 38-point win over the Washington Wizards, he hit seven of his eight shot attempts and scored 21 points in 28 minutes, and in a March 14 loss at the Denver Nuggets, he went 7-of-11 from the field and had 16 points in 28 minutes. But games like that, or ones where he simply got into double digits in scoring, were very much the exception rather than the rule.

Milton never entrenched himself in head coach JJ Redick’s rotation. He may be the type of player who needs consistent and significant playing time in order to be productive, but his inconsistent play makes it hard to argue that he should get more than 20 minutes a game.

Milton’s contract situation

Milton is under contract for both of the next two seasons at $3 million and $3.29 million, respectively. If or when the Lakers make a trade to address one of their roster needs, it’s easy to imagine Milton going out in such a trade as salary ballast to make sure the numbers work.

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If he is on the roster next season, it is likely that someone such as Jordan Goodwin, who showed promise during the second half of the season after getting called up from the G League, will continue to rank ahead of him on the depth chart.

Overall grade: D-plus/C-minus

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers 2024-25 season player grades: Shake Milton