Utah Jazz work out promising prospect Shake Milton

Monday’s Utah Jazz pre-draft workouts featured an intriguing prospect in SMU point guard Shake Milton, who could very well be available at No. 21.

The 2018 NBA Draft is undoubtedly the next most important date on the calendar for the Utah Jazz as they’ll aim to add another impact player, and perhaps yet another franchise cornerstone, to their ranks. This year’s draft has all the indications of being an exhilarating one as there are several intriguing options for Utah to consider that could very well fall to them even at No. 21.

One such option was in Salt Lake City on Monday for a pre-draft workout – Shake Milton of SMU.

Milton is undoubtedly a promising prospect that could be an ideal fit for the Jazz. He’s a six-foot-six, 205-pound point guard with the versatility to guard multiple positions. In his pre-draft workout interview, he spoke of Utah’s defensive mindset and how he believes he could fit right in.

His size and build would certainly be helpful as he could very well cover multiple positions. That kind of “switchable” player is exactly the kind of commodity that teams want in their ranks in the modern NBA. Milton undoubtedly has some work to do on the defensive end in order to make an impact at the next level, but if he reaches his potential, he could wind up being an awesome 3-and-D player.

He certainly had the “3” part down during his time at SMU. Shake shot over 42 percent from deep in all three of his seasons with the Mustangs. In 2017-18, his final season as a student-athlete, he shot an electrifying 43.4 percent from deep on nearly six attempts per game.

That, combined with a nearly 45 percent average from the field, allowed him to put up an impressive 18 points per game in his junior season. Add in his 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals per contest, and it isn’t hard to see why Milton is so highly sought after.

Perhaps the biggest concerns regarding Milton are his less-than-stellar athleticism and the fact that he can do several things proficiently, but doesn’t absolutely excel in many of those areas. If he can further develop and turn his decent characteristics into undisputed strengths, he could very well become a well-rounded player who would fit in nicely with the Jazz.

He has several of the tools he needs to be a long-lasting NBA player and I believe his personality and mindset would fit the mantra of the Utah Jazz. However, he needs to improve in terms of defensive prowess, decision making and consistency.

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If he puts it all together, he could very well be a nice pickup for the Jazz. Differing mock drafts have him landing all over the place, but if he’s available when Utah selects at No. 21, I imagine they’ll think long and hard about selecting him.