New Timberwolves guard Shake Milton could be ninth man in team's rotation

This offseason, the Timberwolves kept most of their roster intact, and when the ball rolls out on the floor for the season opener Oct. 25 in Toronto, eight players in coach Chris Finch's rotation will be players who were on the team at the end of last season.

Finch has said he'd ideally like to play a nine-man rotation, and that likely ninth player will be one of the new acquisitions the Wolves made this summer: Shake Milton.

Milton came to the Wolves from Philadelphia, where he spent the first five seasons of his career out of SMU. The Wolves brought Milton in to serve as a backup point guard, even though he has been more of a combo guard in his career to this point.

That suits Finch and his system just fine, with Finch saying they'd like Milton to score more than he did with the 76ers.

"I actually am pushing him to be more aggressive all the time," Finch said. "I want him to look for himself more. I think that's something we can really use."

Milton is a 37% career three-point shooter, but he took just 1.9 attempts per game last season. That represented the lowest mark of his career.

Finch and Wolves President Tim Connelly sold Milton on having a more dynamic role with the Wolves this offseason, and they told him he liked his versatility to play on or off the ball. Those conversations led Milton to sign a two-year deal worth $10 million with a team option for the second year.

"I could be on the ball, be a point guard, and also have a mentality of scoring," said Milton, who averaged 8.4 points last season. "I really like to be aggressive. … I could affect the game in many different ways in the second unit, too. Get it going or slide up to the first unit and help out and do what needs to be done."

Finch had Milton playing with different lineups in the Wolves' two preseason games against the Mavericks, and that's a strength of Milton's that Finch likes to deploy. Finch said he feels comfortable pairing Milton with almost any combination of players.

"Defensively, he's competing his butt off. He's in the right spots all the time," Finch said. "I think he's trying to value defense more than he ever has done, and he fits in with everybody. … It's really a luxury to have that."

Starting point guard Mike Conley said Milton has fit in seamlessly with the team.

"He doesn't talk a lot when he's out there on the floor, but he goes out there and he works and tries to do the right thing every time," Conley said. "When you find guys like that to come off a bench for you that can literally change a game at any moment, he's huge."

The Wolves have high hopes for what Milton can bring to the offense. Finch said the Wolves were missing some scoring pop off the bench a season ago, and they could use someone that can create his own offense along with setting up others. Milton did both things in Philadelphia, and the 76ers asked him to score more or look to create more at different times.

"In Philly early, I was asked to score a little bit more, and then toward the end they pushed me back toward playmaking a little bit more," Milton said. "So I've been going back and forth. I feel like I'm comfortable doing that. I feel like anytime I just have the mindset of being aggressive and being in attack mode, then good things will come."