Getty Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks is guarded by Shake Milton #18 formerly of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young‘s father was shocked to learn that the New York Knicks are acquiring Shake Milton after the veteran guard clears waivers.
“What the hell man? Seriously, how many good players do the [Knicks] need? This is a GREAT signing. Shake Milton can hoop….he’s [a] perfect role [player] for what a lot of teams need in [the NBA],” Ray Young, Trae’s father, posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The Knicks are adding Milton to bolster their bench depth amid the rash of injuries in their rotation. He will fill up their remaining open roster spot.
Milton has been on the Knicks’ radar even before they traded for Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic, according to SNY’s Ian Begley.
“As they monitored Alec Burks, Bojan Bogdanovic & DET, NYK checked in w/MIN on Shake Milton prior to trade deadline,” Begley reported on X after Milton’s signing widely circulated.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report Milton’s planned signing with the Knicks.
Trae Young has earned notoriety for being the modern-day Garden villain after he led the Hawks to a first-round series win in 2021 en route to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
Young and the Hawks have since regressed while the Knicks gradually improved with the arrival of Jalen Brunson, who led to the second round in last season’s playoffs.
The Shake Milton Addition
Milton agreed to a contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons after appearing in only four games since they acquired him from the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 7 as part of the Monte Morris package. He averaged 6.8 points and 1.5 assists while shooting 42.3% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point line for the Pistons.
Milton will join a reeling Knicks team, who have lost eight of their last 11 games.
He is set to provide backcourt depth for the Knicks behind Brunson. Currently, the Knicks have been rotating Miles McBride and Alec Burks as Brunson’s backup after the departure of last season’s 6th Man of the Year finalist Immanuel Quickley as part of the OG Anunoby trade.
Milton, a former MSU standout who played under ex-Knicks coach Larry Brown, signed a $10 million, two-year deal with the Timberwolves last summer as he sought to have a more prominent role than he previously had with the Philadelphia 76ers last season. He was penciled in to play backup to Mike Conley.
But Milton only averaged 12.9 minutes, producing 4.7 points and 1.3 assists off the bench for the Timberwolves, a far cry from his 8.4-point and a career-high 3.2-assist average in 20.6 minutes with the 76ers.
Euroleague Champion Regrets Playing for Knicks
Former Knicks player Mario Hezonja regretted joining the Knicks in 2018 after spending his first three seasons with the Orlando Magic.
Hezonja, who just won the Euroleague title last year, revealed this in an interview with Croatian outlet Jutarnji List on February 28.
“It’s all good, but I made a big mistake by choosing the Knicks,” Hezonja said. “I was 24 years old, and it was a retirement move, that signing where you go at the end of your career, and not with a lot of energy and desire that I had.”
Things did not work out as Hezonja joined a Knicks team that slumped to the league’s worst record (17-65) in his lone season with them.
“Everything I did, I tried to do perfectly, but there was that label,” Hezonja said. “[Moving to] the Knicks was the wrong decision. The story when I was coming there was that I was practically a future All-Star, not that I wouldn’t play [at all]. And I’m glad at the end of the day to be back in Europe.”