Timberwolves start, bench, cut: Mike Conley, Shake Milton, Jordan McLaughlin

Bench: Shake Milton

The addition of Shake Milton was something of a chess move for Minnesota. With the former 76ers guard having a similar skillset to that of the speedy Jaylen Nowell, he seemed to be an obvious replacement after Nowell’s subpar season in 2022-23.

But surprisingly enough, Milton is more natural playing at the point guard position than at shooting guard. He may have been listed as a two guard in Philadelphia, but he has always had point guard skills. In 76 games for the 76ers last year, he averaged a career-best 3.2 assists per game.

The expectation is that he will be able to give the Timberwolves solid minutes in spurts as a ball handler. Around 20 minutes per game should be the sweet spot for Milton to run with the second unit and bring a little more speed and athleticism than Mike Conley would provide.

All this makes him the easy choice to come off the bench. At this current juncture, Shake would not provide enough of a boost with his scoring or playmaking to justify starting him over Mike Conley. But his advantages in size and shooting efficiency should certainly give him the edge over his new teammate Jordan McLaughlin.