Shake Milton Could Make Return vs. Thunder on Friday

The Philadelphia 76ers will miss a couple of key pieces when they take the floor on Friday night to face the Oklahoma City Thunder as the team shook up the

The Philadelphia 76ers will miss a couple of key pieces when they take the floor on Friday night to face the Oklahoma City Thunder as the team shook up the roster ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.

Sixers starting guard Seth Curry and backup center Andre Drummond are both Brooklyn-bound as they were pieces in the Ben Simmons-James Harden blockbuster trade on Thursday afternoon. Therefore, they won't be around for the Sixers on Friday.

And since James Harden is unlikely to make his debut as early as Friday, the Sixers will lack depth at guard. However, they might get one of their injured guys back in the mix.

Sixers' veteran guard Shake Milton hasn't seen the floor in over a month. The last time Milton made an appearance for the 76ers was on January 3, when his team took on the Houston Rockets at home.

During that matchup, Milton checked in for 20 minutes. In the second half, the young guard took a hard fall and landed on his back. After coming out of the game, the Sixers ruled Milton out for the rest of the night. Philadelphia's medical staff claimed that Milton was dealing with a back contusion.

At the time, it was unclear just how severe Milton's injury was. Eventually, the young veteran addressed the media and made it apparent that he was extremely limited in what he could do on the court.

That was a few weeks ago. Now, Milton is nearly ready to return. With the last two days off from games, Milton was likely able to ramp up action at the Sixers practice facility. With Friday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder approaching, Milton has a chance to play.

According to Philly's Thursday night injury report, Milton has been upgraded to questionable. That's a significant development considering the Sixers have ruled Milton out in advance for the last 18 games. 

The young veteran isn't guaranteed to make his return on Friday, but he's close to coming back, which is an excellent sign for the Sixers, who need help in the backcourt off the bench moving forward.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.