darko milicic - drafting blunder or bad coaching decision?
2nd pick overall.
we hear nothing but this guy is for the future. we hear that they have veteran depth at that position and that he's learning valuable lessons in practice everyday.
the question is, when does it come to fruition?
last year he was a rookie. he didn't play much and that was excusable b/c, well, he was a rookie. but now it's his second year and he's played a total of 5 games with an average of 4.4 minutes a game.
can he play? or is he hype?
i don't know the answer to this but i think larry brown is hurting this kid more by not playing him. practice is practice. let's see what he can do given some time. and now with wallace missing 6 games, he's seen a total of 10 mins, with 8 coming in one game and that's b/c of foul trouble to the starters. you would think this would be a great opportunity to get him in the rotation. do you play elden campbell over him? is that really what should be happening?
and if larry brown doesn't think he's ready, then did dumars make a mistake drafting him 2nd?
after next season, he can become a restricted free agent. does he finally get a chance to prove himself after he leaves detroit?
so many questions, so little answers. dumars got a bye b/c the pistons won the championship last year. brown got a bye b/c he coached them. but with further evidence of brown's decision not to play younger players (lebron in the olympics), has drafting milicic been a mistake?
what are your thoughts.
Are u a Detroit fan or Knicks fan?
If the kid isn't ready then he just isn't ready. We don't see other teams practice and Detroit isn't going to base decision on what we think and they most certainly aren't trying to please us. So if u would like to see this guy play..... go to a Detroit open practice game. Remember one thing; potential doesn't guarantee playing time.
I think he's not ready. I do think they should make some commitment to get him into a game twice, like we do with Ariza and Sweetney. They worked him out and scouted him prety heavily. Its probably more a case of just entering the NBA too soon. He should be a sophmore in college. Talk Lebron and amare all you want but most guys need the extra time.
knicks fan broham.
it's not that i want to see him play, it's just that i'm pointing out, what i believe to be, a mistake by detroit.
why not let him play? it's kind of like with van gundy, grunfeld, and camby. grunfeld made a BOLD move in trading oakley for camby. van gundy didn't like it so he didn't play him. we had depth in the front court and we got away with it. but once ewing got hurt, we needed camby in the playoffs.
this guy was drafted ahead of carmelo and wade.
project or no project, this guy should be getting minutes ahead of elden campbell, especially now that wallace is out.
so i ask, is it brown's choice not to play him, or is it dumars mistake of drafting him (when he's not that good)?
Posted by fishmike:
I think he's not ready. I do think they should make some commitment to get him into a game twice, like we do with Ariza and Sweetney. They worked him out and scouted him prety heavily. Its probably more a case of just entering the NBA too soon. He should be a sophmore in college. Talk Lebron and amare all you want but most guys need the extra time.
the way things are going, darko will be ready to contribute, if he ever will, in his 3rd or 4th year of his rookie deal. detroit will pick up that 4th year option. so with that said, will they re-sign him? if they do, what happens when ben wallace's deal is up? do they re-sign him also? then who starts?
it's a mystery to me how this guy hasn't earned at least a regular spot in the rotation yet considering how hyped he was coming into the draft & how everyone was saying he had a tremendous work ethic & a nasty temperament on the court that great players have.
personally, i think he'll be a bust considering how highly touted he was when he was drafted, but it's still too early to tell for sure i guess...i don't think he'll ever be better than a Brad Miller.
wow, I can't believe all of the Darko naysayers.
I am not saying that Darko will be an all-star, but I wouldn't consider him a tradable bust either....
It took 5 YEARS for Jermaine OFreakin Neal to average more than 5 points a game.
And Detroit is trying to win another CHAMPIONSHIP... do you really jeopardize that just to get someone minutes? No.
i'll take the potential of Darko over Carmelo anyday
Posted by martin:
wow, I can't believe all of the Darko naysayers.
I am not saying that Darko will be an all-star, but I wouldn't consider him a tradable bust either....
well, if he doesn't turn out to be an allstar, then i think it would classify him as a bust considering the amount of hype he was drafted under, no? at least, that's the criteria i'm using...i didn't say he would suck for the rest of his life, btw, so calm down young buck.
hype is just fans and media expectations and is not really based on reality, especially since none of us ever saw him play. If in 5 years he has not cracked the rotation than he is a bust(only because he was the 2nd pick, not because of hype). But at this moment the guy is still a kid, give him some time to develop. In five years we could be saying Dumars is a genious for seeing it coming.
And they still have that title to fall back on.
Posted by Bippity10:
And they still have that title to fall back on.
Exactly, Bip. I killed Dumars on message boards nonstop for drafting Darko, but when they won the championship, I learned to shut my mouth. No one bats 100%. Dumars achieved the dream every GM is asked to achieve. That's the bottom line.
that's the whole point.
as martin said, it took 5 years for j.o. to develop.
but he finally did it for ANOTHER TEAM. and he also didn't start doing it until he got some actual PT.
i never said darko was a bust. all i said was somebody, dumars or brown is at fault right now for not giving this guy PT.
Darko is a young prospect on a championship team.If he were on an expansion club he would be getting the minutes.He also didnt show much heart early on which pissed Brown off,remember that half-hearted dunk attempt that clanged on the rim?
He works hard in practice apparently and Ben Wallace said alot of nice things about him to the media about how he was going to make waves eventually.
Brown is in a tough situation,he has a championship team,his health is failing, and he is in his 70s,does he take PT from guys that are playing better to develop this high draft pick? Or does he go with what he has got and try to go for back to back championsips before probably retiring? In his situation,unless Darko earns the PT,I would do the latter.
More than likely it will be a new Pistons coach that develops Darko.He is still young,the Pistons are contenders so there is no rush IMO.
I dont believe it is either bad coaching or a bad pick.At least its too early to tell anyway because of the circumstances.
Detroit has a championship, and grooming a blue chip prospect.
no blunder, or bad coaching decision to call yet.
They have a win-win situation.
17 year old big men take time to groom. Dwight Howard, Amare and some others may be very obvious exceptions. They had athletisism very early, Darko is a Big kid, will be solid on fundamentals, and those take time.
it may not be a while, but a solid foundations is rarely a bad Idea.
You have to wonder, though, if Dumars could re-do the draft, would he still pick Darko or would he pick Wade, Carmelo, or Bosh?
Those rookie contracts are too short to sign someone w/ the #2 pick who won't be able to contribute anything significant for first 2 years. Especially in what turned out to be an excellent draft. Take potential later in 1st round ... maybe in late lottery. IMO, there's no way Darko pick won't be viewed as a mistake. And thank god for that, as Detroit's good enough w/o one of the studs they passed on.
Wade will likely be an all-star this year. Carmello too. Bosh, perhpas. All 3 are the real deal already. All drafted after Darko, who rides the pine. Can't say he's a bust as a player yet, but clearly, Dumars made a mistake drafting him, and perhaps Brown is making a mistake by not developing him.
Posted by Nalod:
Detroit has a championship, and grooming a blue chip prospect.
no blunder, or bad coaching decision to call yet.
They have a win-win situation.
17 year old big men take time to groom. Dwight Howard, Amare and some others may be very obvious exceptions. They had athletisism very early, Darko is a Big kid, will be solid on fundamentals, and those take time.
it may not be a while, but a solid foundations is rarely a bad Idea.
i'm completely on the opposite side of the tracks of this one. BECAUSE they won the championship, they should be giving this kid some minutes. nobody, NOBODY, would fault them for that.
the pistons did have the luxury of not playing him at all and still winning the ring but since they were able to do that, then it's a no-lose if they play him now.
i like what bernard said, take potential later in the 1st round, not with the #2 pick b/c if darko turns out to be a superstar, it could very well be for another team b/c of the length of those rookie deals.
[Edited by - djsunyc on 11/30/2004 10:15:22]
Would anyone consider a Darko for Sweetney trade. I like Sweetney's game but his time is dwindling also. If given a trade senario I would consider trading Sweetney for Darko.
I don't think Dumars is giving up on Darko that quickly, but if he does, IT has to make that trade.
Posted by Vmart:
Would anyone consider a Darko for Sweetney trade. I like Sweetney's game but his time is dwindling also. If given a trade senario I would consider trading Sweetney for Darko.
Nope; and if Darko had been available at #9, I still would have taken Sweetney. 7' Euro stiffs who are projects should not be taken early or even mid lottery. Too low a percentage of them actually turn out to be successes.
[Edited by - Bonn1997 on 11/30/2004 11:21:08]
Why not give him consistent playing time for a protracted period of time and then label him a bust?
