What will it take to get Darko?

[Arizona's Finest]

From the Detroit Free Press:

Trade talk to heat up

You'll start to hear more trade talk involving Darko Milicic as the Feb. 23 trade deadline nears. The Pistons insist that all they're doing is listening to offers. Let's hope someone pulls a "Godfather" and gives them an offer they can't refuse. We'll take a horse's head if need be.

Everyone wants to pass off Darko as a bust and rightfully so. I see alot of Kwame Brown in him in that MJ destroyed his confidence and that the Lakers thought " with those tools he can be a player with the right coaching" it looks more and more that Brown is a unmotivated soft as tissue kid in a mans body.

But i dont think those are similar attributes a Milicic. He seems to have a lot of conifdence (on the side of bravado) and no intorverts die there hair electric yellow with such a public forum. I just think he is on the wrong team with the wrong mentality.

Detroit (esp. with Larry Brown) are a old school team. Defense and rebounding, with the occasional jump hook. So they see his size and ability to add girth and think, hey we have a new center. But everything i read about Darko compared him to another seven footer, Dirk. While in Detroit every report i have read has him banging on Ben Wallace in practice and working on his post defense? Is that smart? or is that the best team for his skills?

So as i have been saying all season, the Suns are the perfect fit for europeans and especially young impressionable ones. Darko would come here, have the green light to do what he does best (shoot) and with Nash creating shots and Amare giving him open looks outside, this would be the environment best set up for him to thirive in. He seems like a mentally strong guy and he obviously has the tools, he was just drafted by a team thats trying to make him into something he is not.

Case in point: If he take a three and misses bad in Detroit during a game where the outcome is doubt, he will get lambasted by the strong vet influence, a coach who doesnt fully understand his skill (or until this year LB), and fans who are now accustomed to winning.

If he does that here? Oh well....crank it up again next time down court. And this would be the stock answer from the coach, GM and the reigning MVP. This open style of play is most like Europe as well as the chemistry and coaching. If he is going to suceed anywhere, it would be here.....

So really this is a low risk-High Reward issue....And remember, there was a reason he was drafted ahead of Carmelo, Wade and Bosh. He has the skills and i think the mental makeup as well....

And his value could not be lower......I think it would take JJAX, a lower pick and the TE......maybe, maybe James Jones but i would still do that, as i see them both as long term projects and Darko is seven foot and you cant teach that....

The Pistons would be soldifying thier bench for the title run, getting future trade and draft value and gettind rid of a now useless entity...

Everyone is smiles...I have read many posts saying how worthless the guy is, but if my premise is correct it could be fixable. Plus we have nothing to lose. Someone work the CBA math on that and lets get the "TRADE FOR DARKO" bandwagon rolling

 

[elindholm]

He's just another soft seven-foot Euro. There's no reason to prefer him to Tskitishvili or Biedrins or Cabarkapa or any other hot prospect who couldn't develop NBA tools.

Drafting for potential is a gamble, and the Pistons lost this time. You roll the dice and take your chances. They'd probably do the same thing in the same situation again, but Milicic is never going to make it. Kwame Brown showed tons more in his first few years than Milicic has.

 

[asudevil83]

He's just another soft seven-foot Euro. There's no reason to prefer him to Tskitishvili or Biedrins or Cabarkapa or any other hot prospect who couldn't develop NBA tools.

Drafting for potential is a gamble, and the Pistons lost this time. You roll the dice and take your chances. They'd probably do the same thing in the same situation again, but Milicic is never going to make it. Kwame Brown showed tons more in his first few years than Milicic has.

my thoughts exactly. at this point, darko is as much a bust as Skita and Cabarkapa. he's been in the league for 2+ years, and had the opportunity to work with 2 big men (the Wallaces). and throughout that time he has done absolutely nothing.

he is still limited to garbage minutes. hell even Lampe and Vroman got SOME meaningful playing time while on the suns. sure they didnt always do well, but they were given the chance.

that only shows me that Darko has done NOTHING in practice to warrent meaningful playing time on the Pistons. i want no part of the guy unless he could be had for CHEAP.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

He's just another soft seven-foot Euro. There's no reason to prefer him to Tskitishvili or Biedrins or Cabarkapa or any other hot prospect who couldn't develop NBA tools.

Drafting for potential is a gamble, and the Pistons lost this time. You roll the dice and take your chances. They'd probably do the same thing in the same situation again, but Milicic is never going to make it. Kwame Brown showed tons more in his first few years than Milicic has.

This has alot to do with the team he played for and where they are in terms of a championship and a coach who wants to win, development of rookies be damned (except on the Knicks where he has little choice)...It has nothing to do with how he looks in practice because i read numerous quotes from Detroit players saying how Darko is playing well in practice. He just gets nervous and mistake prone when the lights go on. The difference between all those guys (besides Tskita who was top 5) is that Darko has #2 player taken in the LEbron James draft skills. Think about that for a second. Did Joe Dumars all of a sudden turn dumb? It may not have worked out how he liked but there was defeinitly enough there for him to pass over the much well though and hyped Anthony.

So look at my point and couter that...I think Tskita would have more sucess here too. And D'Antoni agree which is why you keep hearing the Suns in conjunction with him last year. And Darko has better tools and makeup then all of them....Caparkapa looked real solid until Danny Fortson happened. And thats before Mike D'Antoni. My point is this:

Hes a bust as of now and can be had on the cheap

His confidence has been beaten down by vetreans and Larry Brown

He still has all world shooting ability and height

He is athletic for his size and plays well in space

The Suns play a much more free-wheeling, confidence building, European friendly style of ball

We have two playes who make everyone around them better in Nash and Amare (say what you will about the clutch Chauncey Billups but you will be hardpressed to convince me he is the type of PG that makes others better rather than just piling up fraudelent assist numbers like Iverson and Marbury. And i think he is a GREAT player, but not the type of PG that Nash is)

The Pistons have tried to morph him into Ben Wallace. Thats a mistake.

I'm not saying its a 100% full proof but you can begrudge me its a chance worth taking. Kwame signed for 8 million a year. I wouldnt be willing to tie up that kind of money to the kid...but we can get him on the cheap both trade wise and salary wise. Why not give him a test run

And i think it would be a mistake to just think the kid (who is what like 22?) is completly done and has to have improved his defense playing for that team at least somewhat) At the very least he would be another big body who can come in and take up some minutes when Amare, KT, and Diaw are subbing in and out. And if he does develop into Dirk like so many predicted way back when, well lets just ask it now....

Is there a limitation of how many Executive of the Year trophies you can win in a row?

 

[SweetD]

I would rather have Darko on the bench instead of Jackson.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

I would rather have Darko on the bench instead of Jackson.

Great point. Jackson is 37, 38 now? Frankly, I doubt if he can turn up his game like he did last year in the playoffs. Even if he could, would he even break the rotation?

 

[elindholm]

Think about that for a second. Did Joe Dumars all of a sudden turn dumb?

No, he's not dumb. It was a calculated risk. You draft a player based on some assessment of the probability that he's going to turn out the way you hope. There are no sure things, and for some picks, the risk/reward relationship is more volatile than others. Whenever to take a gamble, you know that it may end up being a loss, but if the percentages are right, you do it anyway.

No one knows what kind of pro any teenager is going to turn out to be.

 

[elindholm]

Caparkapa looked real solid until Danny Fortson happened.

The Cabarkapa legend seems to grow every month on this board. In fact he had only a few good games before his injury, one of the games being the injury game itself. It seems like every time his name comes up now, we build him up even more into this budding star. I didn't see it then, and I certainly don't see it now. If one hard foul is going to derail a player's aggressiveness permanently, he's no good in this league anyway.

 

[Yuma]

Think about that for a second. Did Joe Dumars all of a sudden turn dumb?

No, he's not dumb. It was a calculated risk. You draft a player based on some assessment of the probability that he's going to turn out the way you hope. There are no sure things, and for some picks, the risk/reward relationship is more volatile than others. Whenever to take a gamble, you know that it may end up being a loss, but if the percentages are right, you do it anyway.

No one knows what kind of pro any teenager is going to turn out to be.

Yeah, obviously passing up Carmello Anthony has turned out to be a good deal for Dumars....

 

[boisesuns]

Caparkapa looked real solid until Danny Fortson happened.

The Cabarkapa legend seems to grow every month on this board. .

I think of it as the "Box Score Conspiracy." Some guy on any given team can go for 30 one night, and a trade proposal shows up here the next day.

 

[Yuma]

A center I would like would be Kaman from the Clippers. I HATE looking at the guy. He's a sasquatch with his hair naired off. That being said, the guy brings energy, gets junk points, rebounds, and blocks shots. My only hope is the Clipper management getting rid of their players when they box themselves into a corner salary-wise. No way they trade with us. Probably will never see him in a Suns uniform, but he'd fit in well here.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

A center I would like would be Kaman from the Clippers. I HATE looking at the guy. He's a sasquatch with his hair naired off. That being said, the guy brings energy, gets junk points, rebounds, and blocks shots. My only hope is the Clipper management getting rid of their players when they box themselves into a corner salary-wise. No way they trade with us. Probably will never see him in a Suns uniform, but he'd fit in well here.

With Donald "Bottom Line" Sterling running the team, never say never. If the deal helped line Sterling's pockets with a little more green he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Maybe we trade a 2nd round pick and cash to the Clippers for Kaman.

 

[nathan]

that only shows me that Darko has done NOTHING in practice to warrent meaningful playing time on the Pistons. i want no part of the guy unless he could be had for CHEAP.

Jermaine O'Neal only averaged 12.3 minutes per game in his fourth NBA season. I'm not saying Darko will ever be good even if he gets a chance to play, but it is possible for good players to get buried on the bench.

 

[newfan101]

That's true, except Darko would have to double his #'s to just get to that level. In fact, he's only played more than 12 minutes a game 7 times in his entire career. And unlike those Portland teams, Detroit is not loaded with depth, especially this year.

In addition, his futility is made worse by the fact that 3 all-stars were drafted right after him. That will make it difficult for Dumars to just give him away and potentially double his mistake. You can bet that if there's any ray of hope that he could justify his high draft selection, he won't be traded unless it's for a sure fire player to help Detroit with their bench. It certainly wont be for the cap relief filler trades being proposed here.

 

[Errntknght]

The Suns brass - and other GMs, for that matter - have a major advantage in that they can get tape of all that Darko has played and the can probably talk to people who have seen him in practice. I think I've seen Darko play about five minutes total and he actually looked pretty good swatting away one shot but poor otherwise.

Saying that I'd still take a flyer on him if he came for cheap - but I don't mean a contract like Kwame's... yikes 8 mil for a guy who's come darned close to proving beyond a shadow of a doubt he's a dud.

But, I tend to agree, the Pistons aren't going to let him go that cheap and risk looking bad twice as newfan said. They're under no pressure to act... they're sitting on top of the world right now with a solid bench and a great starting five. It's not beyond the pale that they're keeping him off the floor because they don't want him to get some confidence and start showing his talent just yet... unlikely, of course, not impossible.

 

[sunsfn]

I think in the next few days you will see some trades going down.

A lot of teams have held back because of Artest. The Clips, Golden state, & Denver will try to make some trades. It will be interesting if the suns get involved as a third team to make something happen, or if they will go after someone on their own.

 

[King A]

guess with skita we dont 'need' darko anymore

 

[F-Dog]

Darko's going to be a good player. The Pistons never developed him because they were busy competing for championships, but IMO he'll eventually make the Pistons wish they'd kept him around.


The Suns don't have what Detroit needs, and they're busy trying to compete themselves. So, there's no chance the Suns will get Darko, which is too bad because I'd love to see him in a Suns uniform.

 

[Yuma]

A first round pick could pry Darko away. Noone is going to give Detroit that. However does, gets Darko.

 

[George O'Brien]

Is there any reason to believe Darko is better than Skita? He's certainly more expensive. Skita has a mimimum contract.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Is there any reason to believe Darko is better than Skita? He's certainly more expensive. Skita has a mimimum contract.

Not really other than the fact i like that Darko has honed his defensive game under LB and the Pistons.......and he has gotten alot bigger since he came into the league......Other than that I think there size and game is very comprable

 

[F-Dog]

Is there any reason to believe Darko is better than Skita? He's certainly more expensive. Skita has a mimimum contract.

Darko is several years younger, and he's a much better athlete.

Also, he can play center, while Skita hasn't shown he can play any position yet.

 

[elindholm]

Darko is several years younger

True, if by "several" you mean "two."

 

[newfan101]

1. Darko is several years younger, and he's a much better athlete.

2. Also, he can play center, while Skita hasn't shown he can play any position yet.

1. If two qualifies as "several," then yes, he is several years younger. In reality, they are both very young.

2. Neither has shown they can play any position.

I honestly haven't seen enough of either player to have an educated opinion on their potential. But on paper, the only thing concrete you can say about them is they both are young, 7 foot European big men who have done absolutely nothing in their short careers. I'd rather take the flyer on the guy making the minimum.

 

[F-Dog]

Darko is several years younger

True, if by "several" you mean "two."

I guess Skita is younger than I had remembered.



Anyway, I would much rather have Darko, but that's probably just me.