Shake Milton wants to show Lakers, NBA that he can bring shooting and defense to whoever picks him in the 2018 NBA Draft

After his Lakers workout and a strong junior year, 2018 NBA Draft prospect Shake Milton said he wants to show the NBA his versatility on both ends of the floor, and explained where his name came from.

Shake Milton is one of the latest 2018 NBA Draft prospects to filter through the Los Angeles Lakers practice facility, and after a grueling session that tested even his own admittedly strong conditioning, but he still hoped he was able to show the front office what he can bring.

”I think if anything I showed off my shooting stroke and my ability to compete at a high level and my IQ for the game of basketball and how players move. What spots you need to be in. Stuff like that,” Milton said.

The 6-5 guard certainly showed those things during his junior year at SMU, when he averaged 18 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists. Milton said he didn’t shoot as well as he hoped in his workout session, but knows that’s not always possible.

”You always wish you could’ve done more,” Milton said. “They know what our shooting percentages were and stuff like that, so it’s just about getting here and showing your shooting stroke of and showing that you have good fundamentals on your shot.”

And given that defense has been a focus for the Lakers in their draft workouts, Milton also wanted to show the team how he can affect that end of the floor.

”You don’t want to be the one getting scored on all the time and you want to communicate to your teammates and let them know what’s going on behind their head,” Milton said. “”Just being long, being active, being pesky. Using my hands a lot to try and get deflections.”

If Milton can deliver all of those things on the court for the Lakers or another NBA team, he’ll be living up to his name, which he says comes from his father’s old playing nickname of the “The Milkman,” which he earned for how he always “delivered it right to your doorstep.”

Milton wants to continue that trend, and he’s willing to play any position necessary to do it.

”The way the NBA game is moving nowadays, it’s pretty much position-less basketball, so as long as you’re out there and you know how to play I feel like you have a spot, and I think that’s where I fit in,” Milton said.

All quotes transcribed via @Lakers on Twitter. All stats per sports-reference.com. A full list of every prospect we know the Lakers have worked out is available here. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen, or support his work via Venmo here or Patreon here.