Shake Milton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Shake Milton Signs With Partizan Belgrade

July 24th, 2025 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

3:03pm: Milton has officially signed a two-year deal with Partizan, the team announced (via Twitter).

8:45am: Just a few days after being waived by the Lakers, veteran NBA guard Shake Milton is reportedly engaged in serious talks with KK Partizan. The Serbian outlet Meridian Sport reported that Milton and Partizan Belgrade were discussing a possible deal, while Telesport (Twitter link) and Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com classified those negotiations as “advanced.”

A second-round pick in 2018, Milton has appeared in 359 NBA regular season games for six teams over the past seven seasons. After spending the first five years of his career in Philadelphia, the 28-year-old has bounced around the league since 2023, playing for the Timberwolves, Pistons, and Knicks in 2023/24 before suiting up this past season with the Nets and Lakers — he was sent to Los Angeles along with Dorian Finney-Smith in a mid-season trade.

In 57 total outings for Brooklyn and L.A. in 2024/25, the 6’5″ guard averaged 5.5 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.8 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per night, with a .453/.358/.797 shooting line. He was released by the Lakers because his $3MM salary for ’25/26 was non-guaranteed and the team needed to create extra breathing room below the first tax apron to sign Marcus Smart.

If Milton does end up signing with Partizan or another European team, it would be the first time the former SMU star has played overseas.

Partizan Belgrade, which competes in the EuroLeague and the ABA League, is coming off an ABA League title this spring but went just 16-18 in EuroLeague play. The club’s roster features no shortage of former NBA players, including Jabari Parker, Sterling Brown, Isaac Bonga, Aleksej Pokusevski, Frank Ntilikina, Duane Washington, and Carlik Jones.

Marcus Smart To Join Lakers After Buyout With Wizards

July 20th, 2025 at 5:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

July 20: Smart has officially reached a buyout agreement with the Wizards and been placed on waivers, the team announced (via Twitter).

July 19: Marcus Smart has reached an agreement on a buyout with the Wizards and plans to join the Lakers once he clears waivers, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. Smart’s new contract will be worth $11MM over two years and will contain a player option for the second season.

Sources tell Charania that Luka Doncic played a large role in recruiting Smart to L.A. He adds that the Lakers, Suns and Bucks all received permission from Washington to contact Smart, and he had “positive conversations” with all three teams.

The Lakers can use their full bi-annual exception to add Smart, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). They’ll have to clear about $4.2MM in salary to have access to the full amount, which may mean parting with Shake Milton, who has a $3MM non-guaranteed salary, and Jordan Goodwin, who only has a $25K guarantee on his $2.35MM salary.

If that happens, L.A. wouldn’t have enough available apron space to sign a 15th man before the start of the season, as Gozlan notes (Twitter link).

Milton’s salary for 2025/26 will become fully guaranteed after Sunday, so the Lakers will have to act fast if they plan to waive him.

If Smart gives back the equivalent of the bi-annual exception in his buyout, the Wizards will be more than $30MM below the luxury tax, Gozlan adds. Washington has its full $14.1MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception remaining, along with $13.4MM and $9.9MM trade exceptions.

Smart, 31, was named Defensive Player of the Year with Boston in 2022, but his career took a downturn after a trade to Memphis in the summer of 2023. Injuries limited him to 39 total games in a year and a half with the Grizzlies before he was sent to Washington in a three-team deal at this year’s trade deadline.

If Smart can stay healthy, he’ll bring much-needed defensive help to the Lakers’ backcourt. He appeared in 19 games with Memphis and 15 games with the Wizards last season, averaging 9.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 20 minutes per night with .393/.348/.761 shooting numbers.

The Wizards have added numerous young players to their roster this summer, so there likely wouldn’t have been regular playing time for Smart, who had a $21.6MM expiring contract. There were rumors last month that Smart was on the trade market, but the Wizards evidently couldn’t find a team willing to take on his salary.

Lakers Waive Shake Milton

July 20th, 2025 at 12:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Lakers are waiving guard Shake Milton, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Milton’s $3MM salary for the 2025/26 season would have become guaranteed if he had remained under contract through Sunday. Charania notes that L.A. is carving out room below the first tax apron for forthcoming new addition Marcus Smart.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), the move now puts Los Angeles $3.9MM below the league’s first luxury tax apron. Another transaction will be necessary in order for the team to sign Smart to a deal worth the full bi-annual exception ($5.1MM).

Los Angeles recently picked up its club option on the $2.3MM contract of young, defense-first guard Jordan Goodwin, but only $25K of Goodwin’s salary is guaranteed as of now. He’s the only other Laker on a non-guaranteed deal, so he would likely be the odd man out unless the club trades or waives-and-stretches a player with a guaranteed salary.

Milton was a minimal contributor to head coach JJ Redick‘s rotation after being acquired as part of L.A.’s midseason trade for Dorian Finney-Smith.

Across 30 contests after being traded to Los Angeles, the 6’5″ SMU alum averaged 3.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 1.3 APG in 11.5 MPG. The 28-year-old wasn’t in Redick’s rotation in the postseason, appearing in just two games for 2.0 MPG.

Agent Says LeBron James Hasn’t Asked To Be Traded

July 12th, 2025 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trade speculation has been swirling around LeBron James for the past two weeks since his decision to exercise a $52.6MM player option for next season was accompanied by a statement from agent Rich Paul indicating that James will be monitoring the Lakers‘ personnel moves to make sure they’re assembling a championship-level roster.

During today’s broadcast of L.A.’s Summer League game (Twitter video link), Dave McMenamin of ESPN relayed a conversation with Paul, who said James hasn’t asked him to work out a trade and he hasn’t discussed the possibility of a future trade with team officials. McMenamin adds that four teams contacted Paul directly to express interest in acquiring James.

Paul also dispelled a theory that James is upset because the Lakers didn’t offer him a contract beyond 2025/26, with McMenamin saying that Paul and James never asked the team for that.

James was at Saturday’s game to watch his son, Bronny James, and the rest of L.A.’s Summer League squad. McMenamin said he gave LeBron a chance to appear on the broadcast to discuss the situation, but he responded, “I ain’t got nothing to talk about.”

McMenamin states that it’s “business as usual” for the Lakers, who are trying to put together the best possible roster around James and Luka Doncic. He lists their assets in potential deals as their 2031 first-round pick and the expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber and Gabe Vincent. They can open a roster spot by waiving Shake Milton before his $3MM contract for next season becomes fully guaranteed on July 20.

James raised some eyebrows around the league by visiting the Cavaliers’ practice facility last week. Although he explained it’s an annual occurrence because he lives in the area during the offseason, it’s possible that similar incidents will continue throughout the summer and maybe into the season until his future gets settled.

LeBron James: “We Don’t Have Room For Error”

January 20th, 2025 at 8:00am CST by Arthur Hill

With the trade deadline 17 days away, LeBron James may be sending a message to the front office that something needs to be done. The Lakers star talked about the limits of the team’s current roster after a 116-102 loss to the cross-town Clippers on Sunday night, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times.

James said the team has a razor-thin margin for error because of the way the roster has been put together. Asked if there is a way to improve that internally, James responded, “Nah. That’s how our team is constructed. We don’t have room for error — for much error.”

Presented with a follow-up question about whether the Lakers have to be nearly perfect to have a chance to win, James said, “We don’t have a choice. I mean… that’s the way our team is constructed. And we have to, we have to play close-to-perfect basketball.”

Woike points out that even though the Lakers are sixth in the West at 22-18, their underlying numbers haven’t been good. Despite the winning record, their net rating is minus-2.9, which ranks 12th in the conference.

They’re also failing to capitalize on a favorable part of the schedule, as Sunday was their 10th time playing in Los Angeles over a 12-game stretch. The Lakers are just 5-5 so far and are in danger of slipping out of a guaranteed playoff spot and maybe even the play-in tournament.

Adding to James’ point about roster construction, he probably didn’t expect to be playing such a major role at age 40. He’s logging 34.9 minutes per night, which is roughly in line with his playing time since he came to L.A. seven years ago, and is averaging 23.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists. He has only missed four games this season, and the Lakers usually need a huge effort from him to be competitive.

It’s also worth noting that part of the roster construction issue stems from taking James’ son, Bronny James, with a second-round pick and giving him a standard contract rather than a two-way deal. The 20-year-old guard has spent much of his rookie season in the G League and has averaged just 2.4 minutes in nine NBA games.

The Lakers have already made one significant deal, acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton from Brooklyn last month in a four-player trade. That hasn’t been enough to spark the team in a tight Western Conference playoff race.

Making pointed remarks close to the trade deadline has been a pattern throughout James’ career, but he’s not the only one who believes the Lakers are in a difficult position. A longtime scout tells Woike that the Lakers appear “stuck,” and coach J.J. Redick expressed similar concerns Sunday night.

“We don’t have a huge margin for error. Nor can we create that margin organically,” Redick said. “It has to be emphasized daily to touch the paint, to play paint-to-great mentality, make the extra pass. We don’t have a guy on our team that’s going to necessarily always draw two to the ball. We don’t have a guy on our team that’s going to be able to get past his guy one-on-one and get to the paint and spread it out to the perimeter. Like, that’s just not our team. So we have to do it through connectivity, through execution. And when we do that, we’re really good.”

Lakers Notes: Vincent, Finney-Smith, Vanderbilt, Wildfire

January 8th, 2025 at 9:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Even though the Lakers lost by 21 points at Dallas Tuesday night, the return of Gabe Vincent provided some good news, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Vincent sat out the previous four games with a strained left oblique he suffered December 28. He went scoreless in 24 minutes, but coach J.J. Redick was happy to have Vincent back on the court.

“Have missed his toughness first of all,” Redick told reporters before the game. “He’s someone that has, as the season (goes on), it seems like he’s got increasingly tougher on the defensive end. His screening takes care of the basketball. Another handler. And then he’s shot the ball really well for a sustained stretch starting with that Utah game (on December 1) when he was in the starting lineup. So we’ve missed him. He’s a pro. It’d be good to get a look at the group with him back.”

Price notes that before the injury, Vincent had been playing his best basketball since joining the Lakers in the summer of 2023. He averaged 7.3 points on 43.9% shooting in his previous 11 games.

Shake Milton replaced Vincent while he was sidelined, and Price points out that L.A.’s rotation is the healthiest it has been since acquiring Milton and Dorian Finney-Smith in a December 29 trade with Brooklyn.

There’s more on the Lakers:

Finney-Smith has only played five games since the deal, but he’s noticed that the Lakers aren’t communicating enough on defense, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. They gave up 119 and 118 points in two road games this week. “We got to do a better job of talking behind guys, giving them confidence so defenders can crawl up in ball handlers and force them to the rim,” Finney-Smith said. “And we got (Anthony Davis) down there, so we got to use it.”
Mismatches have been a problem for the Lakers on defense, as Dallas repeatedly targeted Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht with isolations, observes Johan Buha of The Athletic. The recent return of backup center Jaxson Hayes was supposed to provide another rim protector, but Buha states that Hayes hasn’t been good in that role since he was cleared to play. Jarred Vanderbilt will be reevaluated in a week and Christian Wood is expected to be back soon, but they might not make an impact right away. Redick said Tuesday that Vanderbilt will be eased back into the rotation, probably starting at around 10 minutes per game.
Redick said his family was among the many who had to evacuate Tuesday night due to a wildfire that swept through Southern California, per Stefan Stevenson of The Associated Press. The NBA released a statement regarding the status of Thursday’s scheduled game against Charlotte at Crypto.com Arena, relays Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). “We are in communication with the Lakers and Hornets and continue to closely monitor the situation to determine if any scheduling adjustments are necessary related to tomorrow night’s game,” league spokesman Mike Bass said.

Pacific Notes: Christie, Finney-Smith, Podziemski, Warriors

December 31st, 2024 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

Kings interim head coach Doug Christie picked up his first win on Monday, as Sacramento took advantage of a Dallas team missing its top two scorers and snapped a six-game losing streak, registering its first home win since December 8. Christie has been an assistant coach in Sacramento since 2021, so his players were happy to see him get his first official victory as a head coach, writes Eric He of The Associated Press.

“We’ve spent three summers now with him,” Sabonis said. “He works his butt off and just to see him installing what he believes in the guys, and the guys reacting that quickly to it is awesome.”

As Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee details, Christie got emotional ahead of the game when asked by CBS Sacramento’s Jake Gadon what he wanted to say to Kings fans as the team attempts to turn its season around.

“I love you, first, because this is an incredible fan base, but I would say more than anything, know that we are here to put a product out on the floor that makes you proud,” Christie responded. “… I think everyone understands who I am and what I’m trying to do, so I don’t need to reiterate that, but first and foremost, there’s steps to that process, and the first step is that when they walk in the doors and they leave the doors, they know that team played their f—ing a– off.”

Given that multiple reports in the wake of Mike Brown‘s dismissal indicated that Kings players had grown weary of the coach’s public criticism of the team, one post-game remark Christie made while discussing the team’s need to perform better in “clutch” situations was especially noteworthy.

“When it comes to that point, what are you willing to do?” Christie said, according to He. “I know what I’m willing to do for you, and I’m going to support them in any way I can. Because it’ll always be my fault. It’ll never be their fault. They go do their job. I’m here to take the bullets.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Lakers newcomers Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton have been given the go-ahead to debut for their new team on Tuesday vs. Cleveland, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that the physicals for the four players involved in this week’s Lakers/Cavaliers swap are complete. As Jovan Buha of The Athletic relays, Finney-Smith said on Tuesday that he knew the odds were “high” that he’d be traded the season and added that he’s excited to play for the “big bros” in Los Angeles after being the “little brother” to the Knicks in Brooklyn.
The MRI on Brandin Podziemski‘s abdominal strain came back clean, according to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. Kerr told reporters – including Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link) – that the guard is considered day-to-day after getting injured on Saturday and sitting out Monday’s game.
With their loss to Cleveland on Monday, the Warriors have now dropped 13 of 17 games and are back to .500 after starting the season 12-3. Star guard Stephen Curry referred to the team as “very average” at the moment, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, noting that several of Golden State’s offensive weapons – including Buddy Hield and Dennis Schröder – are going through shooting slumps at the same time. During the Warriors’ 12-3 start, they had the NBA’s sixth-best offensive rating (115.7); in their past 17 games, that number has plummeted to 106.1, ahead of only Charlotte and Washington.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, O’Neale, Booker, Allen, Kuminga

December 30th, 2024 at 9:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers star LeBron James had a lot of good things to say about his new teammates, Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. That duo was acquired in a deal with the Nets over the weekend.

“Obviously, they bring experience, they bring toughness,” James said. “They’ve played in big games and have mastered their roles throughout their careers. I’m looking forward to them getting into our system and making an immediate impact whenever their number is called.”

Coach JJ Redick said he expects both of the new additions to play against Cleveland on Tuesday, Mark Medina of Sportkeeda tweets. He’ll use them in reserve roles.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Redick said Gabe Vincent didn’t practice on Monday due to an oblique injury and is questionable for Tuesday’s game, Buha tweets. Jaxson Hayes (ankle) is probable, while Jarred Vanderbilt participated in non-contact portions of practice and remains out.
Suns forward Royce O’Neale (left ankle sprain) had imaging done on his ankle with promising results but he didn’t practice on Monday, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. Devin Booker (groin) and Grayson Allen (concussion protocol) participated in 5-on-5 drills on Monday. They could both return to action against Memphis on Tuesday. Booker is listed as questionable, while Allen is probable, Rankin tweets.
Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, a restricted free agent after the season, has pumped up his value in recent games. He’s posted back-to-back 34-point outings against the Clippers and Suns. Kuminga is averaging 21.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest this month. “I just think he’s turning a corner,” coach Steve Kerr told Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Lakers Acquire Dorian Finney-Smith In Four-Player Deal

December 29th, 2024 at 3:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

3:33pm: The trade is official, according to press releases from both clubs.

11:20am: The Lakers will trade D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

The second-rounders heading to Brooklyn will be Los Angeles’ own selections in 2027, 2030 and 2031, sources tell Charania. The ’27 pick being conveyed to Brooklyn is contingent on the ’27 first-round pick (top-four protected) L.A. owes Utah, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link), as the Lakers will send the Jazz their ’27 second-round pick if the ’27 first-rounder lands in the top four.

Finney-Smith had been one of the most sought-after three-and-D players on this year’s market and will bring versatility to a team that has been looking to improve its defense. He’s having one of the best shooting seasons of his career, connecting at 45.9% from the floor and 43.5% from three-point range while averaging 10.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per night through 20 games.

The 31-year-old forward is earning $14.9MM this season and has a $15.4MM player option for 2025/26 that he may be more likely to exercise if he’s part of a contending team in L.A. He could also decline the option in order to sign a longer-term deal with the Lakers or to test the free agent market.

Milton is signed through 2026/27, but only this season is guaranteed at $2.875MM. His salaries of $3MM for next season and $3.3MM for the following year won’t become fully guaranteed until the summer before each season.

Russell has an $18.7MM expiring contract, along with $700K in unlikely bonuses that will count toward the apron, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Lewis is making $1.9MM this year and has a $100K guarantee on his $2.2MM salary for 2025/26.

Russell spent time with Brooklyn early in his career and reportedly didn’t part on great terms when he was traded to Golden State in 2019. While he may be a buyout candidate, Russell’s $18MM+ salary would make him ineligible to join any team operating above either tax apron if he’s waived.

The Lakers were able to save some money in the deal and give themselves more flexibility under the second apron, Marks adds (Twitter links). They are currently within $30K of the second apron, but that number will rise to about $3.5MM once the deal is finalized and their projected tax bill will drop by about $11MM. Because they won’t have to aggregate their two outgoing salaries, the Lakers also still won’t be hard-capped at the second apron.

The trade will cost the Lakers three of the five second-round picks they had available to move, but they still have a pair of 2025 second-rounders, first-rounders in 2029 and 2031, and first-round pick swaps in 2026, 2028, and 2030 to offer in any future deals.

The Nets will continue their rebuilding process after sending Dennis Schröder to Golden State two weeks ago. They now project to have $65MM in cap space this summer, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link), which gives them more ammunition to pursue high-level free agents and still re-sign Cam Thomas. Their cap room had previously been projected at around $50MM due to Finney-Smith’s player option.

Brooklyn will have 16 second-round picks and 15 first-rounders over the next seven years, Gozlan adds (Twitter link), giving them more draft equity than any other team. Taking on the extra salary leaves the Nets about $677K below the luxury tax for this season.

A report on Saturday night from Marc Stein indicated that the Nets and Grizzlies were actively involved in discussions that would send Finney-Smith to Memphis in exchange for a package centered around John Konchar and Luke Kennard.

The Grizzlies may have been willing to part with a first-round pick for Finney-Smith, but reportedly wanted to heavily protect that selection and sought second-round compensation in return. Stein states that the Lakers were able to top that offer by giving Brooklyn three second-round picks (Twitter link).

Nets Notes: Schröder, TPE, Beekman, Milton

December 16th, 2024 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

Discussing the trade that sent Dennis Schröder to Golden State, Nets general manager Sean Marks acknowledged that the veteran point guard, who was having perhaps the best season of his 12-year NBA career on the court, will be missed and explained why he decided to move him, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

“We’re going to miss Dennis the person, on and off the court. What he did for us in the locker room, his leadership, he exemplifies the Brooklyn grit we talk about,” Marks said on Sunday. “But these are decisions you have to make when your ultimate goal is long-term, sustainable success. We’re weighing a lot of factors … looking at the big picture, this is what’s best for our organization long term.”

Marks cited the draft assets the Nets acquired from the Warriors as a major reason why the team made the trade, but as Lewis writes, it’s more important to note that moving Schröder will help Brooklyn maximize the value of its own 2025 first-round pick, since losing him will hurt Brooklyn on the court.

The veteran point guard had been the driving force of an offense that was more effective than expected this fall — the Nets’ 113.1 offensive rating ranks 13th in the NBA, ahead of starrier teams like the Warriors and Lakers. It’s safe to assume that figure will drop with Schröder gone, which will make things harder on first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez. However, Fernandez made it clear on Sunday that he and the front office are aligned on the long-term vision for the franchise.

“Are we going to miss him here? Yes, because he’s a great guy and did great things for us. But we have assets, and moving forward that will be a good thing for our future,” Fernandez said. “So, I understand that’s how it works. It’s not my part of the job. My job is to work with these guys … and make them play hard. Our vision from ownership to the front office to the coaching staff is aligned, and we’re going to keep doing it this way.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

According to Lewis (Twitter link), the Nets opted against using their mid-level exception or the $23MM trade exception from the Mikal Bridges deal to take on Melton’s $12,822,000 salary. Using either one of those exceptions to acquire Melton would’ve generated a $13MM-ish exception worth Schröder’s outgoing salary, but Brooklyn opted to keep the MLE and the large TPE intact, creating just a minuscule TPE worth the difference between Schröder’s and Melton’s salaries ($203,250).
Kevin Pelton of ESPN (Insider link) gave the Nets a B-plus grade for the Schröder trade, though he wondered how much more value the club could’ve extracted if it had been willing to take back multiyear salary instead of expiring money.
Two-way player Reece Beekman, sent from Golden State to Brooklyn along with De’Anthony Melton, wasn’t just a throw-in. He’ll give the Nets another option at point guard, and Marks said on Sunday the team is looking forward to taking a “good close-up look” at the rookie, who will get a chance to compete for rotation minutes, Lewis writes for The New York Post. “Yeah, excited to have him,” Fernandez added. “Defensive-minded player; I think he led his conference in steals (last season). A point guard that will help our ball pressure, our activity on defense, play-making, running the team. So, excited to have him. He’ll get here soon, so we’ll get to work with him soon.”
Schröder’s exit also means that veteran guard Shake Milton figures to see more playing time at the point, which is a challenge he’s looking forward to taking on, according to Lewis. “Just continuing to do what we do: Get out, play fast, play with pace, pace and space. Get in the lane. Create for myself, create for others,” Milton said of his goals. “(Schröder’s) points for sure, something that we’re gonna miss. But he also (had) around seven assists a game. And then also he was the leader when it came to picking up full court. So those are important things you’ve got to pick up on, too.”