Official Darko Watch [Archive]

Black Dynamite

02-24-2006, 08:31 AM

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/13946223.htm

Milicic blames everyone but himself for his shortcomings

"I didn't come here to sit on the bench," Milicic said Thursday after the Orlando Magic's practice. "I tell myself that everything will be fine here, but right now, nothing has changed. I want to play. I need to play. I learn nothing sitting on the bench."

"I was pissed," he said. "It was always the same story, same story. They told me to be ready, and I was. They told me to have a good preseason, and I did. But my playing time went to nothing. They didn't want me, so I needed to leave."

But was his time in Detroit really "a nightmare," as he called it this week before he played his first game with the Magic?

Milicic, 20, found freedom and riches he never could have envisioned as a kid in war-torn Serbia and Montenegro.

"War is bad, but it's something that is out of your control," he said. "Basketball is something that you can control, and when it didn't work out like I had wanted, it became a bad experience. I just want to play basketball and have fun." The Pistons "didn't give me that chance."

i starting get the feeling that Darko might not get it. it sounds like he's got this sense of entitlement that he just won't let go of. he won't "lower himself" to just busting his ass and earning his minutes.
DARKO=
http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/2000/october00/images/crying-child.jpg
http://www.aperfectworld.org/cartoons/crying_clown.png
Dont play yourself any longer kid with your puddle of tears. I've gone from indifferent to "somebody whoop this lil' brats ass"

WTFchris

02-24-2006, 10:20 AM

I love it. When I see him still not get it, even with crappy players ahead of him that he should EASILY be able to pass in the rotation with effort, it makes me happy. It tells me that even if we had chosen him over Dyess (ie traded Dyess), Darko still would have been a flop here. It tells me that the original pick sucked, but at least we did the right thing in trading him.

Matt

02-24-2006, 11:07 AM

FWIW, over at the orlando forums, they're saying the quote was taken out of context. he wasn't talking about orlando when he said, "i didn't come here to sit on the bench". there's audio of the interview somewhere.

Kilo

02-24-2006, 11:09 AM

Didn't some "here" as in over the America and the NBA?? So he's playing for free??

ThePriestTouchedMe

02-24-2006, 09:42 PM

He didn't do so bad.... 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 22 minutes.

SKelly

02-24-2006, 09:44 PM

How about Arroyo?!?!?!

18 pts. 7-11 FG 1-1 3PT 3-3 FT 4 RB 4 AST 0 TO

Darko also shot 3-4 from the field, 2-2 from the line, had an assist, only turned the ball over once and only had 1 foul.

Matt

02-24-2006, 09:56 PM

arroyo's had back to back good games.

magic fans are saying that arroyo gets a HUGE crowd repsonse, mostly likely from fellow countrymen.

looking at the boxscore, the magic looked pretty good tonight.

Black Dynamite

02-24-2006, 10:09 PM

Fuck darko. he's a fag. Fuck his whole family and his future children

ThePriestTouchedMe

02-24-2006, 10:23 PM

Fuck darko. he's a fag. Fuck his whole family and his future children

When did he cut his Euro trash hair? Cause it did look really faggy.

Black Dynamite

02-24-2006, 10:27 PM

Fuck darko. he's a fag. Fuck his whole family and his future children

When did he cut his Euro trash hair? Cause it did look really faggy.
just before we dumped him for a box of cigars.

Anthony

02-24-2006, 11:23 PM

arroyo's had back to back good games.

magic fans are saying that arroyo gets a HUGE crowd repsonse, mostly likely from fellow illigal countrymen.

looking at the boxscore, the magic looked pretty good tonight.

fixed [smilie=antlers.gif]

H1Man

02-24-2006, 11:24 PM

arroyo's had back to back good games.

magic fans are saying that arroyo gets a HUGE crowd repsonse, mostly likely from fellow illegal countrymen.

looking at the boxscore, the magic looked pretty good tonight.

fixed [smilie=antlers.gif]
Re-fixed.

Anthony

02-24-2006, 11:25 PM

Thanks for the tip-back.

ojay

02-25-2006, 03:57 AM

Darko stat line tonight (vs Sonics):

http://www.nba.com/games/20060224/SEAORL/boxscore.html

22 min
8 pts
3/4 FG
5 rebs

New career high? Arroyo lit it up though.

Black Dynamite

02-25-2006, 07:35 AM

Darko stat line tonight (vs Sonics):

http://www.nba.com/games/20060224/SEAORL/boxscore.html

22 min
8 pts
3/4 FG
5 rebs

New career high? Arroyo lit it up though.
who cares. i hope to see him suffering a career ending injury. this bratwurst needs a real job to get his head right. spoiled lil fuck. I hope Amir Johnson blows up to be 30 times over the player this punk has become.

ThePriestTouchedMe

02-26-2006, 04:26 PM

Darko is making Juwan Howard his bitch so far.... It's kinda sad.

FP22

02-26-2006, 04:37 PM

Of course... Darko leaves and starts actually caring when he's out there on the floor. [smilie=angry.gif]

Dwight and Darko are going to be scary for the next 10+ years.

H1Man

02-26-2006, 04:54 PM

Darko....The Shot-Blocking Machine.

3 blocks in 6 minutes. [smilie=2thumbsup.g:

Black Dynamite

02-26-2006, 06:14 PM

Darko....The Shot-Blocking Machine.

3 blocks in 6 minutes. [smilie=2thumbsup.g:
Darko is a whiny lil faggot. 1 ring, free money, and countless tears in a handful of minutes. [smilie=2thumbsup.g:

Hopefully dwight howard will bitch slap him by seasons end.

Black Dynamite

02-26-2006, 06:16 PM

H1Man

02-26-2006, 06:22 PM

ThePriestTouchedMe

02-26-2006, 06:36 PM

Darko is making Juwan Howard his bitch so far.... It's kinda sad.
Yea it is since juwan howard has been a force in this league. Wait, nevermind. [smilie=baby.gif]

When's Orlando's next game against detroit? thats the only thing i give half a shit about involving darkho

No no... sad for Juwan. He had 3 shots in a row blocked by Darko. How do you live something like that down?

Black Dynamite

02-26-2006, 06:47 PM

Black Dynamite

02-26-2006, 07:00 PM

Damn Gutz.

No one is claiming Darko is the next coming of Wilt or Russell.

We are just pointing out the fact that he is actually putting forth the effort instead of going through the motions. That's more than what he did in his entire time here.

Relax, will ya.
There is no relax until Darko is out of the league. Ungrateful bitch made losers like him and Rodney White deserve no less IMO.

You can be honest w/o speaking negatively about the Pistons and the chance they gave you to step up. HE FAILED here and all he could do was call the organization out as if it was their fault. Fuck that serbian loser. He's not even the next coming of NoNads Kristic as far as im concerned. Fuck him and if he shows more effort somewhere else when we gave him a chance to show some here. Then double fuck him with a goat and giffman up his ass.

LIL Bratwurst hit a nerve with that whiny ass tantrum he threw. And preceded to throw another one when he didnt get time in Orlando just for one game. I have no respect for that shit. Maybe the team bus can roll over his foot one good time.

Its a shame that any "pistons" fans root for this prick after that. He's not a "good kid" or a "great story". He's a lil punk. And Darko support is not needed. He's rich, young, and soaking up sun bitching about detroit. Excuse me if i dont think to applaud him like he was on a struggle to the top through the "nightmare" in Detroit.

Him and Rodney White need to both be on Orlando. So they can exchange Joe D revenge Theories.

Fool

02-26-2006, 08:07 PM

Either way, good for Arroyo. He's getting more time and using it well. He sucked here since the Pistons actually expected him to run an offense involving other people but they are asking the guy to go out there and produce points and he's doing just that. I'd smoke a fake cuban in the dude's honor if I had one on me.

Black Dynamite

02-26-2006, 08:32 PM

Either way, good for Arroyo. He's getting more time and using it well.
I AGREE THERE. He's been a stand up guy and i said before that a trade would be better for him than the pistons.

Koolaid

02-26-2006, 08:50 PM

I don't know what you guys are tripping about. Darko isn't doing anything that he wasn't doing here, he's just getting more minutes. He got 18 minutes, 4 blocks, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 5 fouls, 6 points. Is that really any different from what he did here this pre-season?

SKelly

02-26-2006, 08:58 PM

Fool

02-26-2006, 09:02 PM

Yeah, all defensive. That's the "no position getting" Darko we know.

SKelly

02-26-2006, 09:04 PM

But he did show some upside and that's all the Magic can hope for right now.

Fekz

02-26-2006, 10:05 PM

UncleCliffy

02-26-2006, 10:34 PM

6 pts and 5 fouls is what he did in Detroit. Darko will get 3 blocks in 20 mins but he will also foul out, thats the way he plays. He just starts swinging his arms at everything. People start interpolating stats and claiming Darko would get 5 blocks and 18 pts blah blah...

Fekz

02-27-2006, 02:20 AM

Taymelo

02-27-2006, 08:51 AM

I agree with Gutz.

It amazes me how many Detroiters actually pity poor, misunderstood Darko.

Granted, most of them are under 18 and post on Real GM, but its still amazing that they exist in such vast quantities.

Once and for all:

We're sorry we drafted you #2, over Melo, Wade, Bosh, Hinrich, etc., and put so much pressure on you to perform.

We're sorry we partially paid off your european contract so you could get out of a war torn shithole asap, and avoid being blown up stepping on an old land mine.

We're sorry we gave you millions of dollars at 18 years old, and had people to teach you english, where to live, how to drive, etc.

We're sorry we had coaches brought over from Serbia to babysit you and make you feel comfortable.

We're sorry we stuck you with such a terrible group of teammates, who did nothing but stick up for you, try to tutor you, take time out of their lives to work with you, talk you up to the media, and make you feel like one of the guys.

We're sorry we tried to spoon feed you into the rotation when you really didn't feel like playing with your daily hangovers, and really felt like sneaking out for a cigarette instead of running and getting into shape.

We're sorry for all of it. Please forgive us, Darko. I hope your nightmarish hell in Detroit is over, and that you meet a nice redneck stripper from some shithole trailer park outside of Tampa.

Gecko

02-27-2006, 01:55 PM

Quite simply I could care less what Darko turns out to be. I really don't freaking care. OK, I might secretly root against him but that's it.

BTW: Is the phrase "I could care less" or "I couldn't care less"?

On one had I might be able to care less than I currently do but I am so ambiviolent towards him I couldn't care less than I already do.

Anthony

02-27-2006, 02:40 PM

Moodini31

02-27-2006, 03:02 PM

BTW: Is the phrase "I could care less" or "I couldn't care less"?

Grammatically, it should be "I couldn't care less, meaning you don't care at all. But most people say "I could care less". If you think about it, that means you care a lot because you "could care less".

There was Mr. Moodini's 3rd grade grammar lesson for the day. [smilie=teacher.gif]

Kilo

02-27-2006, 03:15 PM

While I agree with Moodini for the most part, saying "I could care less" doesn't mean you care a lot, but it does indicate that you at least care some, because there would be room for you to care less. Saying "I couldn't care less" indicates that you do not care at all, and thus there is no possibly way you could care any less.

It's a pet peeve of mine when people say "I could care less", and at one time it was my mission in life to correct everybody. But alas, nobody really gave a damn, blew it off as a "yeah, whatever, you know what I mean" and sorta resented me for correcting them in the first place.

[smilie=arnold.gif]

Gecko

02-27-2006, 08:42 PM

ojay

02-28-2006, 03:06 AM

Fuck, it doesn't not matter couldn't care or better best yet because.

Taymelo

02-28-2006, 07:01 AM

I could fucking care less how you say it.

Back to the Darko discussion.

Gecko

02-28-2006, 08:33 AM

I could fucking care less how you say it.

Back to the Darko discussion.

Well at least that means you fucking care some. [smilie=lolol.gif]

When's Sucko's next game and against whom?

SKelly

02-28-2006, 02:55 PM

He plays tonight in Lakerland.

Anthony

02-28-2006, 03:06 PM

LMAO! He gets to face the black version of him self in Brown.

Kilo

02-28-2006, 11:56 PM

Milicic's first half stats - In 11 minutes:
2-4 shooting, 4 rebounds(2 offensive), 1 assist, 1 turn over, 3 blocks, 4 points

Anthony

02-28-2006, 11:57 PM

The man is on fire! Someone call the fire Department.

UncleCliffy

02-28-2006, 11:58 PM

The man is on fire! Someone call the fire Department.

LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!

MOLA1

03-01-2006, 12:01 AM

3 blocks in 11 minutes is tight though.

FP22

03-01-2006, 01:27 AM

Darko put a sick move on Lamar Odom in the post to blow by him and toss in the layup. Really suprised me. I thought he'd turn it over or throw up some airball hook shot.

Black Dynamite

03-01-2006, 01:51 AM

Darko put a sick move on Lamar Odom .
you lost me right there. [smilie=artist.gif]

MoTown

03-01-2006, 01:58 AM

MOLA1

03-01-2006, 02:10 AM

Darko put a sick move on Lamar Odom .
you lost me right there. [smilie=artist.gif]Lamar Odom's a good fuckin player. You confuse me with your comments sometimes.

Black Dynamite

03-01-2006, 02:21 AM

MOLA1

03-01-2006, 02:57 AM

FP22

03-01-2006, 03:11 AM

Darko put a sick move on Lamar Odom .
you lost me right there. [smilie=artist.gif]Lamar Odom's a good fuckin player. You confuse me with your comments sometimes.
He's also a SF who cant cover any center in the post. An average center can wreck him. But i guess it doesnt matter with the lakers best defender in the post possibly being Mihm or kwame. Kobe might be their best defender in the post. [smilie=anxious.gif]

Darko scoring on Odom doesnt really say much to me. Ben can do that and he's 6ft 8in[smilie=angel.gif]

It's not like he backed him down, and tossed it in over him. It's the fact that he blew by him with an impressive move. Odom should be more prepared to guard that quickness than your average PF/C. Regardless of who it was on it was impressive to see.

MOLA1

03-01-2006, 03:14 AM

That's exactly what I thought it was when I read the comments.
The Odom being a bad defender part really threw me off though.

Matt

03-01-2006, 10:15 AM

I got to watch the Lakers/Magic game tonight and there is absolutely no change in the kid. He still looks lost. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't have the basketball sense you're going nowhere....

true, but in a week's time in ORL, he's gotten more consistent PT than the 2 years here in DET. i really think that his basketball sense/savvy will come with more consistent time. i hate to say this, but i think by the end of the season he's going to look pretty decent.

in his last three games, he's averaging 21 min, 6 pts, 5 reb, 3 blks, 1 ast, 1 stl.

Kilo

03-01-2006, 10:27 AM

Black Dynamite

03-01-2006, 10:28 AM

Lamar's a decent defender. Darko's not a center.
He's barely a player at this point. Kobe's not their best defender in the post.

Darko scoring on Odom doesn't say shit to anyone.
They said it was a MOVE...he didn't even pull the shot off but still...
why the hell does Odom suck again? He's one of the Lakers best defenders.
Also, if it was a move, it's impressive because Odom's quick. Don't hate just to hate.
Well i think lamar odom's offensive game is solid and under the right system one of the more effective. But outside of a few off the ball rejections here and there, his defense has been bad for awhile in my mind. Putting a move on him with one of the weakest defensive froncourts in the league protecting him is an easy basket all day IMO. I've thought since his Miami days and its my biggest gripe on him besides his tendency to play soft at times.

But to get back on topic, the move didnt impress me. But he did own Odom. Just that owning odom in the post doesnt say much.

Black Dynamite

03-01-2006, 10:30 AM

Kilo

03-01-2006, 11:09 AM

Kid hasn't played got PT in the last 3.5 years and you're cracking on him for lack of basketball sense?? Truth be told, he probably hasn't played a lot of basketball since he was 14 and started playing professionally in mens leagues.
Well wasnt he supposed to have picked something up from playing with rasheed and BEn? Amir Johnson seems to know his waty around the court in garbage time. and unlike darko he didnt get to play professionally in his mid teens against grown players..

Yes but Amir Johnson probably played in 90% of every game his whole life. Why does Milicic look like a million bucks in private workouts, because he is doing the sort of things you do in practice. He has no feel for games because he never played in them. Kid needs to be force fed minutes over the next two years - both during the season, the pre-season, summer leagues and National team games.

When did he ever play with Ben and Rasheed?? In practice?? how much scrimmaging really goes on in practice anymore due to the schedule?? LB wouldn't let Milicic scrimmage with the team because he was so lost - he had him working out privately with an assistant coach. Euroball teams scrimmage more, but it's still not the same as game time, and even then I bet he was never good enough to scrimmage with the starters.

Taymelo

03-01-2006, 11:22 AM

I've got a great idea.

Lets have a debate as to whether Darko sucks, or just needs playing time and couldn't get it in Detroit.

Some of us can call him lazy, and compare him to Ben Wallace. Others can chime in that Ben wasn't the #2 pick, and that Darko deserves to be a prima donna.

Its never been done before, ever, and will make this website something unique and special.

Ready.

Set.

GO!!!!

Kilo

03-01-2006, 11:33 AM

I have an equally compelling and ingenius idea - if you don't want to discuss Darko Milicic, don't come into the thread titled "Official Darko Watch"...

Taymelo

03-01-2006, 12:10 PM

I have an equally compelling and ingenius idea - if you don't want to discuss Darko Milicic, don't come into the thread titled "Official Darko Watch"...

I thought the Darko watch thread would be more about what he's doing now than what he didn't do in Detroit.

However, in hindsight, it was a dumb thought. Obviously, while discussing what he's doing now, people are going to bring up what he didn't do in Detroit.

EDIT: After all, the title is official darko watch, which suggests it is about what he's doing now, not official reasons Darko didn't pan out in Detroit.

Fool

03-01-2006, 12:34 PM

We could have another thread entitled "Official Darko Watched" thread.

Gecko

03-01-2006, 12:45 PM

Matt

03-01-2006, 02:03 PM

Drizzt Do'Urden

03-01-2006, 02:33 PM

Darko played pretty well last night against the Lakers. He had 7 rebounds, 6 points on 3-6 shooting and 3 blocks in 24 minutes. He also had 2 nice quick moves to the basket that resulted in scores. He is still timid at times but if he gets over that he could be a beast.

(I liked Darko when he was here so I've been watching him coz I have NBA season Pass on DirecTV)

I'm sure this won't be a popular opinion here but I think Darko and Howard are gonna be the twin towers circa 2008.

Gecko

03-01-2006, 02:38 PM

When I think the "Official Darko Watch" I vision something like this. You know something cheap, ugly and totally unreliable.

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6844/closeyellowswatchhering6qo.jpg[/img]

Swatches - Scam artist Parker Lewis (Corin Nemec) on the sitcom PARKER LEWIS CAN'T LOOSE/FOX/1990-92 always wore a Swatch timepiece as he roamed the hallways of Santo Domingo High School in search of misadventures. All of "best buds" including Jerry Steiner (Troy Slaten) and Mikey Randall (William Jayne) wore Swatches (Model 150M), as well. Before embarking on a mission, Parker Lewis advised "Gentleman, synchronize your Swatches."

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/2162/timepieceswatch39pq.jpg

Taymelo

03-01-2006, 03:02 PM

We could have another thread entitled "Official Darko Watched" thread.

[smilie=lolol.gif]

That was awesome.

[smilie=drunkdude.g:

Kilo

03-01-2006, 11:43 PM

Milicic at the half vs GS Warriors -

9min|6 points(3-3)|4 rebounds(3offensive)|1 assist|1 foul

SKelly

03-01-2006, 11:46 PM

Give him credit for 2 assists because he had a dump off to Hill and he got fouled and made both free throws.

FP22

03-02-2006, 12:59 AM

Damn... Darko is making us look real stupid already. He has been very impressive tonight. Showing everything we heard about back in '03. Handles, shot, rebounding, everything. He was driving and dishing to Dwight and Grant for dunks/FTs. He was grabbing rebounds in traffic. He was blocking and altering everything in the paint. Making impressive moves in the paint (hit a nice hook shot) as well as shooting from distance.

25 minutes, 12 points (6-7 FG), 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

How did this guy get buried on the bench again? I can understand Sheed and Ben, but he looked more impressive than anything I've seen from Dice since he's been here. And he's 20!!! [smilie=angryfire.g:

H1Man

03-02-2006, 01:04 AM

25 minutes, 12 points (6-7 FG), 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

9 Rebounds? [smilie=404.gif]

That's probably more than what he had in an entire season when he was here.

SKelly

03-02-2006, 01:05 AM

Darko got a chance to play for us the first few weeks of the season. He was terrible. It's entirely different playing small minutes on a Championship team than a bunch of minutes on a lottery bound team. The same goes for Arroyo.

FP22

03-02-2006, 01:08 AM

25 minutes, 12 points (6-7 FG), 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

9 Rebounds? [smilie=404.gif]

That's probably more than what he had in an entire season when he was here.

It's like he had super glue on his hands compared to before. He was boxing out, leaping, and snatching rebounds with authority in traffic.

Dumars, Flip, and LB are officially on my shit list. [smilie=angry.gif]

Kstat

03-02-2006, 01:40 AM

I dont hate Darko, but the guy was CLEARLY tanking when he was here. Not just in the games, but during practice.

He took the fastest way off the team, and now he's happy in Orlando. There wasn't any way around it.

Hopefully the next guy Joe drafts is willing to earn his minutes here.

DelfinoFan

03-02-2006, 08:25 AM

Taymelo

03-02-2006, 08:30 AM

With Darko, it does not surprise me that he is doing more things on the offensive end for Orlando. He always looked affraid to do anything but shoot jumpers and set screens here, because he knew he would get pulled if he messed up. He just severely lacked confidence in himself, and Orlando is letting him regain it, something Detroit NEVER allowed him to do.

No. I agree with Kstat 100%. If you watched Darko's body language during warmups, games, etc., you could tell he was going out of his way to look bored, disinterested, etc. He was forcing Dumars to trade him. It wasn't a confidence issue. He was telling Dumars that he's not even going to try for him, so he'd better just ship him off to another team and get it over with already.

DelfinoFan

03-02-2006, 08:42 AM

Ok, but i still think my point is correct too. Cant we both be right? Or is that impossible?

Black Dynamite

03-02-2006, 09:10 AM

Ok, but i still think my point is correct too. Cant we both be right? Or is that impossible?
You do understand Taymelo doesnt believe in such nonsense as everybody's right. [smilie=anxious.gif]

Kilo

03-02-2006, 11:26 AM

This is going to be one of the worst trades in NBA history. We got nothing for him, might as well kept him around - I'd rahter have let hium walk after next season scot-free than accept a crummy draft pick for him.

Kid wanted playing time. Sure you can say that he had to earn it and all that tough talk, but maybe you should have "gave" a #2 overall pick, the kid you positively raved about something if it meant he'd still be here.

The kid is going to be special, and we're going to look back and say why in the hell couldn't we give the kid five minutes a game.

If the Pistons don't win a championship over the next couple of years, this trade will be ridiculed 100x worse that Portland being lampooned for dealing Jermaine O'Neal.

We chose giving McDyess five extra minutes a game and HCA over developing Milicic.

Black Dynamite

03-02-2006, 11:33 AM

This is going to be one of the worst trades in NBA history. .
Damn you're smoking some good shit. Because if you expet an explosion of super stardom out of darko, you'd be sadly mistaken. But since we are going out on a limb. I say 3 years from now Amir Johnson>Darko easy.

If we don't win a title in the next couple years it has lil to do with Darko. He hasnt even been relevent since he got here, so you're giving him too much credit with that thought. You take that freebie #2 pick off his chest and he doesnt matter. Last i check, the rodney white and mateen cleeves debacle havent crippled the franchise even a lil bit ever. So why would a freebie #2 pick hurt us. In fact we'll get quicker results from the 2 fowards drafted this year in maxiell and amir johnson.

Also i like to see how he uses the magic pick before i pass judgement on the value of the trade. I will say we gave away arroyo for nothing. but whatcha gonna do? Snakes on the plane Kilo. Snakes on the plane man.

DrRay11

03-02-2006, 11:36 AM

Shit... I didn't know they played last night. I would've watched. Was he really impressive, or just better than he was here?

Pharaoh

03-02-2006, 11:39 AM

Kilo:

Do you secretly hope that Orlando pick lands us a quality player, but say the opposite just to prepare yourself for the worst?

Just wondering

Kilo

03-02-2006, 11:41 AM

Taymelo

03-02-2006, 11:42 AM

I'd rahter have let hium walk after next season scot-free than accept a crummy draft pick for him.

The kid is going to be special, and we're going to look back and say why in the hell couldn't we give the kid five minutes a game.

As to the first sentence - I believe that Orlando has not won a single game since they got Darko. It looks like it will be a top 10 pick. Darko was a #2 pick. They didn't need the #2 pick at the time, but might get the #5 pick in 2 years, when they need it. In other words, it is starting to look like they traded the #2 pick from a year when they didn't need anyone for the #5 pick in a year when they will need someone.

They trade a few spots in the draft in order to spread it out until they need it - and they got some cap relief. I'm not saying they couldn't have done better for Darko, but how is that such a terrible trade?

Also, if we're going to call him a bust after every bad performance and a "going to be special" after every decent performance, we're screwed. How about a little even keel - like Joe Dumars "there's going to be some nights where you look at the box score and he's going to have 18, 10 and 4(, but there's also going to be nights where he doesn't do shit, so fuck him)".

EDIT: And who's to say the pick we end up getting from ORL doesn't turn out to be a better player than Darko, at a position we need to fill? Who's to say we don't get a Paul Pierce type (wasn't he picked #8 or 9?), to take over for Tay at the sf position, etc.?

Black Dynamite

03-02-2006, 11:43 AM

Kilo is skewing his shish Kabobs a lil' too dark with the darko in a couple games vs Dice all season sig.

Black Dynamite

03-02-2006, 11:44 AM

This is going to be one of the worst trades in NBA history. .
Damn you're smoking some good shit. Because if you expet an explosion of super stardom out of darko, you'd be sadly mistaken. But since we are going out on a limb. I say 3 years from now Amir Johnson>Darko easy.

I don't know why you wouldn't expect superstardom. Nobody who saw him ever questioned his talent/skillset, the only knock on him was attitide/work ethic and most realized that would be greatly improved with playing time. I think in three years time his draft position will look just about right.

Reguarding Amir> Darko in three years A]You're nuts and B]We could have had them both.

Ummm you do understand they said the same thing about White's talent vs work ethic. Maybe you underrate work ethic.

Either way Amir Johnson is more NBA ready out of high school than Darko with a better attitude and wont play another game this year, yet may still look more knowledgable on the court than Darko by next season..

Kilo

03-02-2006, 11:44 AM

Artis Gilmore

03-02-2006, 11:47 AM

12 pts 9 boards against Golden State?

I must be dreaming.

Black Dynamite

03-02-2006, 11:48 AM

Kilo:

Do you secretly hope that Orlando pick lands us a quality player, but say the opposite just to prepare yourself for the worst?

Just wondering

I hope to hell we get either the 6th pick next year or the first overall pick in 2008. I don't believe for a second that is going to happen though. I think we're looking at pick 14-20 next year in all likelihood.

So Darko leads the magic to the promised land? [smilie=applause.gi:

So you think Magic make the playoffs next year? or even come close for that matter?

Unless they grab an serious player this offseason i dont see it. Maybe if they got pierce. But otherwise doesnt seem likely.

Kilo

03-02-2006, 11:51 AM

Kilo:

Do you secretly hope that Orlando pick lands us a quality player, but say the opposite just to prepare yourself for the worst?

Just wondering

I hope to hell we get either the 6th pick next year or the first overall pick in 2008. I don't believe for a second that is going to happen though. I think we're looking at pick 14-20 next year in all likelihood.

So Darko leads the magic to the promised land? [smilie=applause.gi:

So you think Magic make the playoffs next year? or even come close for that matter?

Yes I do. I think their plan was to absolutely tank next season(which is why they were adement on top 5 protection) however I think they'll retink their strategy if the next 25 games goes well for them. I could see them dealing their pick and Hills expiring contract for a stud SF/SG and making a play-off run next season.

Glenn

03-02-2006, 01:53 PM

I'm with Kilo on this aspect of his "Darko disaster plan" (but only this aspect).

I wouldn't be surprised at all if they make a few more deals and get into the playoffs next year. Let's face it, it's not that hard to do.

I could certainly see our pick being mid to mid-late first round when we finally get it, which was one of my biggest gripes about the Darko deal.

But people keep saying that "we got a lottery pick from Orlando for Darko". Don't be so sure.

Joe Asberry

03-02-2006, 07:09 PM

we should have gotten more for Darko, fuck this silly pick, we gave him away for free... this is the most frustrating part, i can't believe Darko will ever be more than an average NBA starter...

mikevant

03-02-2006, 07:12 PM

I would have paid Joe $1,000 to trade Darko anywhere for pocket lint.

But we're still talking about him, so I'd probably want a refund.

SKelly

03-03-2006, 12:17 AM

At least Darko has put that perception to rest that Maxiell was in the rotation before he was, and that we weren't playing Maxiell because we would "hurt Darko's ego."

Black Dynamite

03-03-2006, 12:25 AM

At least Darko has put that perception to rest that Maxiell was in the rotation before he was, and that we weren't playing Maxiell because we would "hurt Darko's ego."

Ummm that could still be true. Its obvious now that he has an ego. And since he referred to us as a nightmare. Maybe that was part of it.

b-diddy

03-03-2006, 01:04 AM

Fekz

03-03-2006, 06:19 AM

Oh how the high and mighty have fallen. Fuck Darko.

Get it through your heads that this bitch was GONE the minute Larry Brown arrived. Hoping Darko would've stayed after LB shitted on him is like hoping a failed suicide bomber will change his ways if you let him live.

He only talked about getting more playing time because... well because there was nothing else for him to do. He was miserable, he was bored as fuck. In his mind he was oppressed for a while, so he wanted to play to speed shit up. You know you're in this nightmare for another year or so, might as well make it pleasant as possible by getting some minutes.

Dude was gonna bolt as soon as the opportunity came. Give him minutes for what? is he going to perform better then sheed, ben, or dice? Are those minutes going to positively affect this championship run knowing he's going to bolt in a year? No. Joe D could've brought Darko 72 virgins and twenty 5ths of grey goose and he still wouldn't have gave leaving a second thought.

No team is perfect. The Darko situation could've been handled better upon learning Darko wasn't comfortable with LB's daily thrashings. To sit here though and diss Dumars after all the smart ass moves internet GM's couldn't pull off or vision in their wildest trade checker fantasy is just stupid.

I don't understand the logic of wasting 7 million dollars on a player who's not currently good enough to crack the rotation of meaningful minutes on THIS team, knowing he's going to leave. If Darko comes back to haunt us, It'll be long after this championship run guaranteed. I mean, how long do people expect this shit to last?

Black Dynamite

03-03-2006, 07:36 AM

]But if I'm Joe Dumars I'm looking at Flip Saunders and asking him why, given what we've seen in Orlando, Darko couldn't have done that for the Pistons. Maybe he needed a fresh start or maybe he just needed minutes. That's what happens when you judge guys before you actually see them play.
Now everyone's a Darko apologist. And doing the hilarious 180 turn. Nightmare my ass. I've never seen this many excuses for a someone being a stuck up lil bitch in a long time. Lets not beat around the bush. The only difference now is Darko doesnt have to earn minutes. Lets be clear that his nightmare started and ended with his own idealism that he should play solely because he was the #2 pick. That idealism caused him to get bored when the season started and constantly spill grape kool aid on his championship ring. As he always had a tendency to throw it away by accident. No one is at fault for darko sucking outside of Darko.

What so we were supposed to put the title on hold and cater to him? Theres muthafuckas who have bounced around the whole league busting their ass on the court playing for us. And Darko should've got a free pass because he was the #2 pick? Doesnt work like that here. Maybe in Orlando the perrenial lottery town, but not here. And honestly the idea that Orlando will figure out the right pieces to build a playoff team is a joke IMO. the closest they came to that was T-Mac signing. But T mac did all the work.

Darko got no time not just because he didnt earn it. But also because he had to earn it. The sheer thought that He, The Great Darko Millibitch, has to "earn" time was a joke to him. Same thing happened to rodney white. And seeing him "choose" to play better because now he doesnt have to play his way into a rotation. Makes me happy that he's gone. Because a lazy prick like that is no good to us. Nothing to regret IMO. Darko is a selfish whiny bitch. Something that doesnt need to be part of our future.

Wherever the pick for him we got lands. I feel Joe D has a better idea of what type of players he wants to draft(that goes a long way IMO vs having high picks with no idea). And i think Darko's shitty attitude vs guys like billups, ben, sheed,prince, and Dice even showed him what to look for in his mind. I think that was reflected in his picks this year and his picks the following years to come. Lazy draft picks with no work ethic or ambition need not apply.

We need people with heart running our future. that doesnt apply to Darko.

Taymelo

03-03-2006, 07:41 AM

Glenn

03-03-2006, 07:59 AM

At least Darko has put that perception to rest that Maxiell was in the rotation before he was, and that we weren't playing Maxiell because we would "hurt Darko's ego."

I let out a Sheedesque laugh when I read this.

Yes, Darko's dominance in Orlando has put this to all to rest, no question.

Darko has proven that he is an egoless, hard working, team-first guy in a matter of days, despite his comments and actions that say otherwise.

Darko's position in front of Maxiell (and even Dale Davis earlier in the year) had absolutely nothing to do with protecting his fragile ego or enhancing his trade value, it was due to his diligent hard work in practice and his ability to take advantage of every possible moment of PT that he earned through that hard work.

End of discussion, somebody lock this bitch up.

Hermy

03-03-2006, 11:35 AM

It sucks like it sucks how we lost Bobby Sura in that Sheed deal. Dude would have had like 4 trip-dubs coming off the bench for us if we had kept him. I don't think Sheed got one that year.

Taymelo

03-03-2006, 12:31 PM

It sucks like it sucks how we lost Bobby Sura in that Sheed deal. Dude would have had like 4 trip-dubs coming off the bench for us if we had kept him. I don't think Sheed got one that year.

[smilie=applause.gi:

Excellent perspective.

The funny thing about Darko supporters is the way they read the stats. If Darko gets 4 blocks in one game, but his man scores 30 points and his team loses by 20, did he have a good defensive game?

Because that's what happens. He plays terrible one on one defense, and mixes it up with even worse team defense, the opponent is always plus a lot of points when he's on the floor, his team's lead always evaporates, the opponent always wins, but he ends up with 4 blocks in the box score, and suddenly he's a basketball god.

b-diddy

03-03-2006, 12:38 PM

What totally amazes me is everyone knew if you put Darko on a shit team and gave him minutes, he'd put up some numbers, and the shit team would continue losing.

Now, we trade Darko to a shit team, he puts up some numbers, and the shit team continues losing, and some of us are acting like:

Wow, its amazing. He's a stud. I can't believe we traded him. Worst trade in history. Who knew he could put up some numbers on a shit team that continues losing? What were we thinking? Why didn't we see this coming? I had no idea he could block a few shots, get a few rebounds, and score a few points if a team threw him out there during a losing streak.

Isn't this a fair assessment of what's going on?

so, you think anyone expected/hoped darko to turn orl. into a winner? after the franchise trade?

c'mon, atleast be reasonable. ~80% of people said darko couldnt play anywhere. now, he's put up a few games in a row with decent numbers. is he a great player? havent seen him yet, but his numbers are pretty impressive for a 20 year old kid who hasnt played in 3 years.

theres an excellent chance darko develops in orlando, and it will be because they gave him time.

detroit NEVER, NOT ONCE, threw darko a bone. we couldnt have found 500 min. in the regular season each year to give to darko? would that really have made a difference?

hey, whatever. he pussied out after 3 years of being asked to take playing time away from 3 allstars, while learning a new culture, while being forced to completely change his style of play, as a <20 year old.

too much to ask? fuck him, i guess.

SKelly

03-03-2006, 03:19 PM

JackTalkThai

03-03-2006, 03:48 PM

WTFchris

03-03-2006, 04:45 PM

What totally amazes me is everyone knew if you put Darko on a shit team and gave him minutes, he'd put up some numbers, and the shit team would continue losing.

What would've happend if you had put Darko on an awesome team and gave him minutes...how would the team have done?

It's too bad that Detroit fans will never know.

Let's suppose for a moment that Darko replaced Dyess's role (dyess wasn't here, got hurt, whatever senario you want to make up)...

Darko would probably be able to replace his production at times and even surpass it, but he would have been inconsistant as well. I suspect we'd have a lot of leads evaporate on us. But, if he was given a season in that role to learn (playing 20 minutes a game), I suspect he could probably get his game up to what Dyess is currently (post-injuries). We probably would have lost more games last year, but Darko could probably be as good as Dyess now, with a higher cieling. Unfortunately, we can't sacrifice seasons to develop him. Had we known we wouldn't win the title, then perhaps we could have done that. But you don't know that. We certainly could have won the title. And you can't throw away a title shot to play him.

That's just my opinion though. He also might have played crappy, got benched in favor of Davis, and sulked even more. We will never know. That only thing we do know is that Darko never would have panned out here with his approach to his situation.

Black Dynamite

03-03-2006, 09:11 PM

c'mon, atleast be reasonable. ~80% of people said darko couldnt play anywhere. .
Prove that. Because i dont remember a majority of people taking it that far. Nobody felt he could earn the time anywhere else. And he cant. He doesnt work hard and is a waste of time for us. We dont need lazy premadonna ego trip guys who cant grow enough balls to play hard enough to earn a spot on this team. Sorry but nothing is for free here. Fortunately for him he can get playing time in crummy orlando off his draft status alone. But its not like he beat out pat garrity for playing time. It was just given to him. When i see Tayshan, Amir, acker, maxiell, Delfino, and even okur when he was here bust their asses in garbage time. Then watch darko pout himself to death with the same time to earn his spot. It makes him look pathetic. And he was never meant to play here if he thinks it was a nightmare having to earn time with plain old hardwork.

He has no heart whatsoever. I wouldnt be surprised if he gave his title ring to the first piece of pussy he got out of one of the suburban high schools. Lil brat just doesnt care about the things that a guy fits this team needs to. Every second you see Maxiell on the court, you say "this guy is a piston". Not the same for Darkhead.

Nothing to regret. Joe D had to fuck up that pick to get his mind right. I think Darko has done alot to improve Joe D's drafting eye as far as the type of players he wants. And i'm still possibly seeing the pick from orlando being better than Darko as long as it goes no lower than 14. There will be plenty of closer to NBA ready college kids coming out by then. No more high school project hard to pass up gambles for the moment.

Taymelo

03-04-2006, 07:52 AM

Darko's position in front of Maxiell (and even Dale Davis earlier in the year) had absolutely nothing to do with protecting his fragile ego or enhancing his trade value, it was due to his diligent hard work in practice and his ability to take advantage of every possible moment of PT that he earned through that hard work.

End of discussion, somebody lock this bitch up.

OBVIOUSLY: The Pistons didn't care about Darko's ego, or they wouldn't have sat him for over 2.5 years!!! If they are looking to tender his ego, they play him. They crushed him.

OBVIOUSLY: The Pistons didn't care about Darko's trade value, because they were playing DALE DAVIS in front of him.

OBVIOUSLY: Darko is a better player than Maxiell at this point. It's not like now that Darko is gone, Maxiell is playing. He is still stuck to the bench!

How can you possibly say that Darko was kept ahead of Maxiell in the rotation because of Darko's ego and his trade value? That makes 0 logical sense.

1. Skelly is blaming the world champion Pistons for not giving up their title hopes to prevent "crushing" Darko. OBVIOUSLY: The Pistons would not have won the title one year, and made it to game 7 of the Finals the next, because every minute he was on the floor, the Pistons' lead evaporated exponentially.

2. OBVIOUSLY: The Pistons did care about his trade value, and that's why they played him early in the season - to up his trade value. And then when he sucked out there and every lead evaporated while he was out there, it was obvious that playing him would only diminish his trade value, and the best thing to do was hide him and try to fool someone else into taking him sight unseen (in terms of 5 on 5 basketball) like the Pistons did 3 years ago.

3. OBVIOUSLY: It is flawed logic to claim Darko is better than Maxiell, and use as your only evidence that Darko didn't play, and neither does Maxiell? I can tell you this - there was a time when Maxiell would check into games before Darko - and he always did more with his minutes than Darko.

Taymelo

03-04-2006, 07:57 AM

BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Carlos Arroyo, PG 33 9-14 1-2 2-5 1 3 4 6 3 0 0 1 21
Darko Milicic, FC 26 4-10 0-0 0-0 3 7 10 0 0 0 4 3 8

Darko last night: 26 minutes, 4-10 shooting, 8 points, 3 fouls, 4 turnovers, 0 blocks, 0 steals, 0 assists, 10 rebounds.

Darko supporters: "He had 10 rebounds last night."

Darko haters: He had 4 turnovers, 0 blocks, 0 steals, 0 assists, and 3 quick fouls in just 26 minutes

PS: Carlos Arroyo last night: 33 9-14 shooting, 21 points, 6 assists, 3 steals.

H1Man

03-04-2006, 08:17 AM

SKelly

03-04-2006, 09:40 AM

1. Skelly is blaming the world champion Pistons for not giving up their title hopes to prevent "crushing" Darko. OBVIOUSLY: The Pistons would not have won the title one year, and made it to game 7 of the Finals the next, because every minute he was on the floor, the Pistons' lead evaporated exponentially.

2. OBVIOUSLY: The Pistons did care about his trade value, and that's why they played him early in the season - to up his trade value. And then when he sucked out there and every lead evaporated while he was out there, it was obvious that playing him would only diminish his trade value, and the best thing to do was hide him and try to fool someone else into taking him sight unseen (in terms of 5 on 5 basketball) like the Pistons did 3 years ago.

3. OBVIOUSLY: It is flawed logic to claim Darko is better than Maxiell, and use as your only evidence that Darko didn't play, and neither does Maxiell? I can tell you this - there was a time when Maxiell would check into games before Darko - and he always did more with his minutes than Darko.

1. I have no real problem with the Pistons benching him. My point is that they didn't care about his ego and using the fact that they glued him to the bench as proof.

2. The Pistons really cared about his trade value, right, that's why they sat him for 2.5 years. He played at the beginning of the year because he played well in preseason. Then, he struggled and didn't see time.

3. I'm looking at Darko's success in Orlando, and Maxiell not getting any PT here. I know it's flawed to judge who's better, but I'm sure that it's Darko.

Taymelo

03-04-2006, 09:57 AM

Skelly - just going back to point #2. I'm not being sarcastic. I honestly, honesty, honestly believe the Pistons were extremely concerned about his trade value this year - perhaps not years 1 and 2, but this year.

I think they played him early for two reasons:

1) see if he could play under Flip. Give him one last chance to remain a Piston.

2) showcase him for a trade.

When he played so bad it was clear he'd never crack the rotation, and would only hurt his trade value by exposing his flaws, they decided to trade him, and then hid him on the bench to hide his flaws and keep his trade value high.

Taymelo

03-05-2006, 08:33 AM

OK Darko supporters. This is your chance to shine. Darko had 3 blocks last night in just 21 minutes, so lets hear the "future HOF" talk.

OK Darko bashers. This is your chance to shine. He only scored 7 points in 21 minutes, had 2 turnovers, and only had 3 rebounds - - - and his team lost YET AGAIN as a result (partially at least) of him being in the lineup for 21 minutes, so lets hear the "total bust" talk.

PS: In 28 minutes, Carlos Arroyo had nearly as many blocks as Darko (2), as well as 12 points, and 4 steals.

Black Dynamite

03-05-2006, 01:30 PM

PS: Carlos Arroyo last night: 33 9-14 shooting, 21 points, 6 assists, 3 steals.

That fucker scored in double digits in all but one game (he only played 5 minutes) with the Magic. And he is shooting 52% from the floor. [smilie=angryfire.g:

Granted, its a small sample size but that's a remarkable improvement from his time here.
he didnt fit here. it became painfully obvious. i dont mind the first rounder for darko. but we gave arroyo away for free and that was fucked up. he was a bigger pickup than darko for orlando needs. A young PG who can get everyone involved in their scheme. our long bomb chucker scheme wasnt suiting him. unfortunate but im happy for him.

SKelly

03-05-2006, 04:57 PM

Skelly - just going back to point #2. I'm not being sarcastic. I honestly, honesty, honestly believe the Pistons were extremely concerned about his trade value this year - perhaps not years 1 and 2, but this year.

Well all I can say is that I disagree. I'm not a Darko hater or lover, but I think he could have been a nice weapon to have off the bench if we handled it correctly. I just can't stand that the arguement that he was playing ahead of Maxiell for two reasons: ego and trade value. I think the Pistons could care less about Darko's ego, and it's not like now that Darko is gone Maxiell is playing.

But Darko made it really hard to handle him correctly for 2+ seasons because of his sulking. But I think if we could have fed him minutes here and there throughout these years that he'd be part of our rotation now.

(An Orlando) Darko would be really valuable right now during this injury stretch for McDyess. He has a cast thing on his hand and it's given him some fumble-itis and he has a mask on his face which usually detracts players not named Richard Hamilton. I think they've been taking a tole on Dyess lately.

But by not playing Darko and playing Arroyo a little both became distractions. So I did like the Magic trade. To keep Darko we would have needed to give him a new contract within 2 years, when Chauncey is also up for a new contract (Plus Ben the year before), and Arroyo would still count against the cap. Our payroll would have been around $70 million in 2 years. And that's too much to keep around 2 guys that weren't really helping us here. We also got a potential lottery pick.

Kilo

03-06-2006, 11:31 PM

Milicic has a crappy game tonight, playing 14 minutes and scoring a whopping 2 points on 1-3 shooting. He also collected 3 boards two blocks and a couple of fouls.

SKelly

03-06-2006, 11:54 PM

That is why you don't compare performances by a guy who's played 5 games vs. a guy who's played 60 games. A game like this will throw all of his averages off.

UncleCliffy

03-07-2006, 12:02 AM

Actually 21 mins

Orlando Magic

1-8
101.6 points allowed

LOL

Before Darko, 96 ppg allowed

Train Wreck

03-07-2006, 12:52 AM

Actually 21 mins

Orlando Magic

1-8
101.6 points allowed

LOL

Before Darko, 96 ppg allowed

LOL@Darko

FP22

03-07-2006, 02:05 AM

Actually 21 mins

Orlando Magic

1-8
101.6 points allowed

LOL

Before Darko, 96 ppg allowed

In Darko's defense (and trust me, I prefer he's a bust if he's not on the Pistons), check the numbers with him on and off the floor...

http://www.82games.com/0506/05ORL17D.HTM

They are 5.2 points better per 100 possessions on the defensive end with Darko on the floor than their seasonal averages. They're also 7.6 points per 100 possessions better on the offensive end. They outscore their opponents by an average of 8.1 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor, and are outscored by 4.7 per 100 when he's off the floor.

It's Arroyo's defense that's killing them. They're giving up 117 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor. That's pretty awful

Taymelo

03-07-2006, 07:13 AM

Orlando Magic
1-8
101.6 points allowed

LOL

Before Darko, 96 ppg allowed

BUT HE HAD TWO BLOCKS!!!! HE'S A FUTURE HOF'ER, YOU HATER!!!@#!@#$!@$!@$#!@(&*#$!@*&#$

Fool

03-07-2006, 08:16 AM

I would guess the loss of Franchise has something to do with it as well. But then judging someone based on Ws/Ls in their first real playing time is always the right way to analyze things.

They can't win with Darko on the floor!!! LOL!!111 He's CLEARY A BUST!!!!211132433411!!

the wrath of diddy

03-07-2006, 10:05 AM

In two full seasons under Larry Brown, Milicic averaged 5.8 minutes in only 71 games. In a half-season under Flip Saunders, the numbers were 5.5 minutes in 26 games.
Not nearly enough daylight to answer these vital questions: What could the mysterious Milicic do? And not do? Why wasn't he receiving anything approaching meaningful PT? And why had the otherwise savvy Joe Dumars tabbed him as the second overall draft pick in 2003?

Upon his arrival in Orlando, Milicic has become an integral part of the Magic's rotation — averaging 23 minutes of court-time over six games, and producing 7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots per outing. The Magic's date Monday in Utah (a 90-85 loss) was as good a time as any to shine some light on Darko's game.

MIN FG 3FG FT REB A ST BS TO PTS
MILICIC 21 1-3 0-0 0-0 3 0 0 2 0 2

FIRST ROTATION — FROM 11:39 TO 8:00 IN FIRST QUARTER

Milicic was forced into the game when Tony Battie picked up two quick fouls.

All game long, Milicic mostly hung around on the weak-side and was seldom involved in the offense. He did set one solid screen in his first rotation, but on four other occasions he turned sideways just before the expected impact and slipped to the basket. The prospect of getting the ball in scoring position was clearly more important to him than setting useful screens.

Credit Milicic with completing a nifty cross-court pass from the right-wing. (He immediately dove into the paint and actually had excellent position, but didn't get a look from his teammates.) Later, when he was doubled in the low-post, he flung a wild pass to the nearest wing and was lucky that one of the Jazz deflected the ball out-of-bounds.

The Magic are giving Darko Milicic a chance to prove himself in the NBA. ( / Associated Press)

His defensive efforts were even more negligible: Milicic showed a remarkable lack of hustle in transition. He was lifted by the merest twitch of a fake on the part of Mehmet Okur — thereby allowing Okur enough free space to knock down a 17-footer. Was so intent on blocking a shot that he gave Okur a baseline pathway to the hoop from the left box—but Okur missed the ensuing layup. Was nailed on a cross-screen by Milt Palacio — thereby allowing Okur to score an easy layup. Shortly thereafter, Brian Hill summoned Milicic back to the bench.

SECOND ROTATION — FROM 0:22 FIRST QUARTER TO 4:52 SECOND QUARTER

More spectating from the weak-side. Another post-up, another double-team, and another reckless pass that was fortuitously tipped out-of-bounds by the home team.

This time, Milicic was defending Carlos Boozer, and was immediately taken into the pivot and beaten by a baseline move. But Jameer Nelson was there to provide a modicum of help and Boozer misfired. Milicic was on the spot to grab his first rebound.

When Matt Harpring curled around a screen set by Boozer, Milicic failed to show and Harpring buried a wide open 15-footer. A few minutes later, Utah repeated the play—Milicic stepped out to stop Harpring, but couldn't get back to Boozer, who hit a mid-range jumper.

Uh oh! Could Milicic be one of those guys—like Will Perdue and Stacey King—who always make the wrong choice on any given defensive play?

Milicic managed to hustle back in defense of a Jazz fast break, but never turned to locate the ball. Had he been alert, he could easily have attacked the subsequent layup.

Just before Milicic left the game, Boozer posted him once again. This time, Milicic fought to control Boozer's lead arm, thereby preventing Boozer from getting settled and discouraging his teammates from throwing an entry pass. On the next rip downcourt, the Jazz threw a screen/roll at Milicic and forced him to switch on to Devon Williams. Milicic held his ground and Williams proceeded to turn the ball over.

A pair of excellent defensive sequences for young Darko.

THIRD ROTATION — FROM 3:38 THIRD QUARTER TO 5:47 FOURTH QUARTER

Instead of furiously attacking the offensive glass, Milicic was content to long-arm missed shots and try for tip-ins. He barely missed one from the outside slot on the free throw line, and then missed an easy put-back near the end of the third quarter.

Milicic also set two text-book screens, and made a crisp entry pass into Hedo Turkoglu as well. Then, early in the last period, coach Hill finally called Milicic's number: The play began when Milicic received a wing pass on the left side of the court, passed the ball back to a guard, then as the ball was reversed, used a baseline screen to cut toward the right box. It was easy to tell by the enthusiastic manner in which Milicic threw that first pass that the play was set up for him. In any case, he stood too upright to seal his defender in the pivot and never got the ball.

Milicic tallied his only score when his defender was chasing the ball and a lob pass found him alone under the basket.

On defense, he made a too-late rotation and fouled Jarron Collins; ran hard in an offense-to-defense change; made a timely show and recovery on a S/R, stepping in front of a driving Okur and forcing him to double-clutch and miss a complicated layup. Then, while guarding Andrai Kirilenko, Milicic anticipated a cross-cut and jumped to the far side of the lane — but AK never moved. This was an example of a player playing the play instead of playing his man.

What conclusions can be drawn from Milicic's performance in Utah?

Instead of utilizing his speed in the low-post by catching the ball and making an explosive move, Milicic was hesitant to attack the basket. While he was sizing up the situation, the Jazz came at him with a double-team. Even so, Milicic is quick enough to drive baseline away from the incoming double, but he chose to make risky passes.

On defense, Milicic was too eager to block shots and was always on his toes.

He was not aggressive in any aspect of the game, and, indeed, never worked particularly hard. This is the most puzzling and most maddening of his deficiencies.

There are several reasons why a highly-paid NBA player cruises through a ball game:

He's young, foolish, and thinks that his long-term contract will last forever.

He thinks he's so naturally terrific that he can just bop his way around the court and still excel.

He doesn't especially like playing basketball.

He's mad at his coach, his teammates, his girlfriend, his agent, etc., and being passive-aggressive is the only response at his command.

He's restraining himself from making an all-out effort to protect his ego in case he flops. Hey, I could've done well if I would've busted it. This self-generated excuse allows the player to maintain his belief in his own greatness, but is basically a failure mechanism.

Or, he just is incapable of playing at this high level of competition.
Whatever the reason, it sure looked like Dumars erred in drafting Milicic, but rectified his mistake by trading him. The only unanswered question is this: What happens to the young man now? Milicic won't be 21 until late June, so he's got plenty of time to grow into his game.

But for the time being, if he's content to take games off like he did in Utah, then Milicic might just as well be playing on the dark side of the moon.

Charley Rosen is FOXSports.com's NBA analyst and author of 13 books about hoops, the current one being "The pivotal season — How the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers changed the NBA."

Pharaoh

03-07-2006, 10:18 AM

ONE game and Rosen is right on it.

The media are a bunch of punks.

I hate Darko - I'm happy he's gone.

I think Joe made the right trade (Kilo can suck my fuck)

BUT that article is bullshit.

Kilo

03-07-2006, 10:56 AM

I think Joe made the right trade (Kilo can suck my fuck)

Just to clarify "sucking ones fuck" is what exactly. Is it something to do with a wetspot??

Pharaoh

03-07-2006, 11:04 AM

Matt

03-07-2006, 11:09 AM

*shudder*

Glenn

03-07-2006, 11:10 AM

While I fuck your wife/girlfriend you suck her pussy

Understood?

I'm really hoping that I just misread that.

Please?

Kilo

03-07-2006, 11:15 AM

While I fuck your wife/girlfriend you suck her pussy

Understood?

I'm really hoping that I just misread that.

Please?

Basically a pre-emptive assault on the wetspot...

Blue language at this time of the day/morning is cringe-worthy, though I completely understand the time difference and such.

Glenn

03-07-2006, 11:19 AM

That visual just seems a little "too close for comfort" with high "man on man" potential.

If nothing else, it certainly would be crowded down there.

Black Dynamite

03-07-2006, 11:20 AM

Off topic:Glenn thats the best avatar theme and sig you've had in awhile.

Otherwise Darko isnt doing anything to regret losing him.

Pharaoh

03-07-2006, 11:23 AM

Don't blame me - blame GWOW

And Kilo can get his share of the blame for claiming the Darko/Arroyo for Cato/pick trade is the Worst Trade Ever.

I call it how I see it.

And when I see Bullshit you know I have to call it

WTFchris

03-07-2006, 11:41 AM

While I fuck your wife/girlfriend you suck her pussy

Understood?

WORST. TRADE. EVER!

I think not.

At 2am I can't even think of 5 trades but Seattle traded Pippen for Polynice looks pretty fucking shit in hindsight.

Kareem for 4 scrubs was pretty bad too.

I don't remember, but what did Portland get for JO?

Hermy

03-07-2006, 12:55 PM

b-diddy

03-07-2006, 10:39 PM

right charlie rosen... any time a sports writer drops 'passive agressive' in his article, you know he's gone to the BS.

i dont know what people want from darko.

what more do you expect from a 20 year old kidd who hasnt played in 2 1/2 seasons?

hes going to be inconsistent.

hes going to make bad decissions.

hes not going to turn a team thats clearly tanking into a playoff team.

the fact that he's put up a few nice games is more than alot of people thought he was capable of.

sometimes i wonder if people look at this as a piston fan or as a critic. because some of these comments just dont make sense.

and how bout two other trades to compare it to:

kwame for caron butler and chucky atkinson.

eddy curry for 2 lottery picks and sweetney.

in my opinion, eddy curry had far more warts than darko (yep), and kwame was only a slightly smaller question mark than darko.

i think both of those trades are way better than what detroit got for darko and its backup pg.

Taymelo

03-08-2006, 07:02 AM

the fact that he's put up a few nice games is more than alot of people thought he was capable of.

That is absolutely, positively 100% untrue.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, expected and continues to expect Darko to have some games where he fills up the box score.

Most of the Darko bashers also believe that Darko will have a very, very long career in the NBA, in which he'll have plenty of, as Joe Dumars himself put it "18 point, 10 rebound and 4 block nights".

Where did you get that statement?

Pharaoh

03-08-2006, 10:51 AM

eddy curry for 2 lottery picks and sweetney.

There you go Kilo.

geerussell

03-08-2006, 12:14 PM

in my opinion, eddy curry had far more warts than darko (yep), and kwame was only a slightly smaller question mark than darko.

i think both of those trades are way better than what detroit got for darko and its backup pg.

The main difference being that curry and brown had enough playing time to at least give potential trading partners some idea what they were in for. The higher level of speculation involved with Darko watered down his value.

JackTalkThai

03-08-2006, 12:45 PM

in my opinion, eddy curry had far more warts than darko (yep), and kwame was only a slightly smaller question mark than darko.

i think both of those trades are way better than what detroit got for darko and its backup pg.

Eddie Curry also possessed FAR greater proof of viable and productive talent than did Darko at the times of their respective trades.

WTFchris

03-08-2006, 12:48 PM

Curry was also persued by an idiot GM.

The Kwame deal is more comparable. If we get a player better than Butler with that pick, we come out ahead of them on the Kwame deal. And Kwame and Curry at least showed they belong in the NBA at some capacity. Darko hasn't shown that yet.

b-diddy

03-08-2006, 02:17 PM

1) (taymelo) i recall paul silas and barkley (irrelivent) saying darko didnt belong in the leauge. i wont name names, but i'm pretty sure some people have said that darko isnt nba material. in orlando, he's putting up numbers to justify him being in the nba. at this point, what more could you expect?

2) (geerussel) both those guys had shown more, but curry in particular, had shown enough to prove that he was as much a problem as he is an answer, and definitly didnt deserve that contract. darko is more of an unknown. but with curry, you know your getting a guy who is a complete fat ass, has no work ethic, only plays on one side of the court (and only 1/2 the time), and has a bum ticker. im convinced darko had more trade value than curry.

3) (chris) isiah might be a lousy gm, but he's not the only lousy gm in basketball. but i agree, the kwame deal is a better comparison. maybe the pick will be better than caron, maybe not. but the fact that washington didnt have to wait 2 years to get him makes that deal alot better, regardless.

i just see this deal looking worse and worse for the pistons, and its only justification is that an old man with all the money in the world didnt think detroit fans deserved to have a team that pays the tax. im 100% confident a better deal was out there.

Glenn

03-08-2006, 02:54 PM

1) (taymelo) i recall paul silas and barkley (irrelivent) saying darko didnt belong in the leauge.

On the day of the trade, I heard Silas say that it was his opinion that Darko would be a career "journeyman", which is not the same thing as saying a guy doesn't belong in the league.

But I agree with most of your other points.

Fool

03-08-2006, 02:59 PM

^In the same prodcast Silas made a comment as the program was fading to commercial, something like "Because the kid can't play".

Glenn

03-08-2006, 03:01 PM

I heard him on XM's simulcast of ESPNNEWS, so I must have missed that part.

Kstat

03-08-2006, 03:03 PM

Um guys, that was John Thompson, not Paul Silas.

Glenn

03-08-2006, 03:06 PM

Just to be clear, Silas is definitely whom I am referring to.

Fool

03-08-2006, 03:06 PM

Oops, thats right. It was Thompson. Good lookin' out.

b-diddy

03-08-2006, 10:18 PM

definitly going one step too far with this one...

darko/ mcdyess

min 20.4/ 19.9
pts 6.4/ 7.0
rbs 5.1/ 4.6
sh% 561/ 495
blks 2.0/ .49
stls .5/ .49
asts .8/ .9
tos 1.3/ .81

disclaimers:

1) obviously dyess is contributing more to wins for his team.
2) obviously we would not have done as well last year w/o deyss
3) deyss is the better player right now.
4) this is too small a sample to judge darko

BUT

their numbers arent that different, and in all honesty, dyess has not looked that good this year. he NEVER posts up anymore. he probably should be moved this summer, unless his game comes back to him during the playoffs.

they make ~the same money. the biggest difference between darko and dyess (imo) is that one guy is on his way up, one is on his way down.

this year, i'd rather have deyss. next year...?

sorry for not being able to get off this, but right now the only two subjects that interest me involving basketball are darko and the ncaa's.

i have a feeling i'm going to be writing lots of 'what if?' posts till playoffs. it will probably be better for everyone if darko fizzles out.

SKelly

03-09-2006, 12:47 AM

Darko went scoreless tonight.

The Magic didn't have a game though.

FP22

03-09-2006, 01:26 AM

Darko went scoreless tonight.

The Magic didn't have a game though.

I heard he dominated in practice though.

[smilie=anxious.gif]

Black Dynamite

03-09-2006, 01:28 AM

Darko went scoreless tonight.

The Magic didn't have a game though.

I heard he dominated in practice though.

[smilie=anxious.gif]
haven't we all.

Taymelo

03-09-2006, 08:00 AM

As to trading McDyess this offseason, consider the following my very sarcastic response:

1. Yeah, because nobody wants a big man who can really play eating up a whopping $4 million off their cap. For $4 million, we should be able to get a 25 year old Shaq.

2. "Dice rarely posts up anymore". Who's fault is that? Dice or Flip? Because everything I've seen, heard and read is its Flip's offense that makes Dice do the pick and pop from 18 feet, instead of parking his butt in the post like last year under Brown. So basically you want to trade him not because he's worse than last year, but because he's doing what his coach tells him to do?

Fool

03-09-2006, 08:03 AM

Hell yeah, we don't need that loyalty shit here.

Anthony

03-09-2006, 08:19 AM

MOLA1

03-09-2006, 10:08 AM

[smilie=anxious.gif]LOLOLOLOLOL!!!

Taymelo

03-09-2006, 10:20 AM

Darko Milicic: "Now it's up to me"
by Nebojsa Petrovacki / March 8, 2006

Lately, you have given some very harsh statements regarding the situation you had in Detroit. How did you feel right before being traded last month?

Darko Milicic: I don’t know what to say. It was bad, really bad. It was literally a nightmare before I heard that I was traded. That situation really started getting to me mentally this season.

Do you hold any grudges against the Pistons organization?

DM: No, there’s no point in that. But I am disappointed with numerous promises they made – especially before the start of this regular season. I think that I didn’t quite shine during the preseason, but I think I played solid basketball and that I deserved to get some kind of chance at the beginning of the regular season. They basically turned the lights off me after the preseason. No explanation, no nothing…

Isn’t it logical not to play the first two years on a team that went to the NBA Finals twice in a row, especially considering that the two coaches you had in Detroit played a rotation of seven, eight guys at most?

DM: I really don’t want to think about that anymore. That is a past tense for me. I start from the beginning here in Orlando. I just need to get into playing shape as soon as I can and not worry about Detroit anymore.

For the first time in your NBA career, you are playing significant minutes in the fourth quarter. Is that a completely new experience for you?

DM: Yes, it is. It feels so good. It is such a great feeling when you understand that the coach believes in you and that he is giving you a chance to play in the clutch minutes down the stretch. Now it’s up to me. It will take me some time to get back in the shape I once was. Two and a half years of not playing took their toll. My basketball feeling has simply being lost by me not playing. But it’s up to me to get it back with hard work and playing as well as possible.

Do you think it was bad for your career to be drafted by Pistons in 2003?

DM: That’s a tough question. I never got to play in Detroit. I came to the NBA to play… On the other hand, I was extremely happy to be on a team with such great teammates. Every single guy on the team – Joe Dumars, the coaching staff that worked with me – everybody was just great…

What specifically did you lose by not playing in Detroit?

DM: I lost the feeling you can get only by playing. On the other side, I had a precious opportunity to play and practice with all those great players in Detroit. But you lose that orientation on the court – when you should pass, when you should take the shot… As soon as I get that decision process in order, everything is going to be just fine.

Did you already move out completely from Detroit?

DM: Yes! That’s a good thing about NBA, since your new team organizes the move very efficiently. I sold both my houses in Detroit, and I don’t want to leave a single thing that I own over there. I sold all cars other than one Mercedes coupe.

How does life in Orlando look like so far?

DM: It’s OK. Weather sure beats Detroit, but it is a smaller place. Not too much to do on off days. I currently rent a two-bedroom apartment. I will see what will I do after the end of the season.

How was your first conversation with Brian Hill in Orlando?

DM: It was nothing spectacular. He promised me a chance to play, and he said that everything else is up to me. I took it seriously, and I will try to help us win as many games as we can until the end of the season.

Playing on a losing NBA team is also a novelty for you. How does it feel?

DM: It is different than in Detroit, that’s for sure. But we’re young. We sure have potential to be good. We just need to work hard, to be patient. And one day, who knows? We might be a very good team.

What is the atmosphere like, considering the poor results this season for the Magic?

DM: We try to maintain a positive attitude. That is also a little strange for me, coming from Detroit where we practically won every game this season. I think that in two years or so, if we work hard, we can be a very good team.

Where do you think you have most room for improvement in your individual game?

DM: Nothing in particular, really. I just need to work hard. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised about my conditioning, considering that I didn’t play for such a long time. I didn’t get tired in those games where I played 20-25 minutes. It’s up to the coach to determine what, where and how much I’m going to play.

You've had some very erratic shots from mid-range. Did that surprise you?

DM: Yes, very. During practice, I hit a vast majority of those shots, and it seems that those are the things that I lost by not playing. Everything is different in a competitive game compared to the shots you take while practicing.

Other than you, two more Serbian players were traded in February, Peja Stojakovic to Indiana and Vladimir Radmanovic to the Clippers. Any thoughts on your National Team teammates’ new situation?

DM: I talked to Peja when we played in Indianapolis recently. He told me he was very happy with his new situation. He tells me that he’s happy with the organization and that they have great team chemistry in the Pacers. Regarding Vlade, I was very disappointed when I found out that he is staying at the same L.A. hotel where we stayed when we played the Clippers a week ago. We didn’t meet then, but he is one of those guys that were just cut to make it in the NBA. I mean, his physique, his shot, his strength, height… I think he will be well off in any NBA team.

Did you talk to Peja about rejoining the Serbia-Montenegro National Team this summer for the World Championships in Japan?

DM: We talked very briefly when we met. I think that every single player that is called to the National Team has to play. We all know what we went through as a nation in the last ten years. Wars and poverty took an horrific toll on our people. I think it’s every player’s responsibility to our country to play for the National Team. On the other hand, I know how hard it is to play throughout the year – especially after such a long NBA season. However, I will play, if invited, every year until the end of my career. I will be there. I think that now, after all these bad results we had in the last couple of years, we need to get all the best players and remake those glorious teams from the not-so-distant past, when we were world champions in 1998 and 2002.

Kilo

03-09-2006, 10:28 AM

You trade McDyess because he doesn't fit the coaches system, just like you traded Arroyo, not because you think he is a bad player, but he wasn't a fit is all. McDyess, like Arroyo, was brought in to fit Larry Browns system.

For better or worse we're going to have to bring in guys that fit Flip Saunders system.

Pharaoh

03-09-2006, 10:29 AM