Darko about to find the Magic - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

MavsFanFinley · 02-14-2006, 11:53 PM

Pistons close to deal that would end Darko experiment

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

Two things it now appears that these Detroit Pistons won't do: Win 70 games or continue the Darko Milicic experiment.

NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday night that the Pistons and Orlando Magic were close to completing a long-discussed trade that would relocate Milicic, 2003's No. 2 overall pick, to central Florida. The trade could be completed as early as Wednesday, sources said, with only one potential snag.

The sides, according to sources, are bartering over the extent of lottery protection Orlando would have on the first-round pick it has agreed to send Detroit along with center Kelvin Cato for Milicic and guard Carlos Arroyo.

It's thought Orlando is seeking to retain this year's first-round pick -- and convey its 2007 first-rounder to Detroit instead -- if the Magic's pick winds up in the top seven of the June draft. The deal would collapse if the sides can't come to a resolution -- with Detroit looking to reduce Orlando's level of protection by a few spots -- but it's clear the Pistons have made the decision to move Milicic before the Feb. 23 trading deadline after giving him a chance to earn a rotation spot under new coach Flip Saunders.

Milicic hasn't played much more for Saunders than he did for Larry Brown, unleashing a new wave of second-guesses on Detroit's decision to draft the Serbian 7-footer over Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade ... even though the Pistons won the championship in Darko's rookie season and came within one game of a repeat title last season.

Yet, even if Milicic had established himself as a rotation regular under Saunders, it's doubtful the Pistons could have afforded to retain him beyond this summer. With Ben Wallace bound for free agency in July and Chauncey Billups expected to seek a lucrative contract extension before becoming a free agent in the summer of 2007, Detroit needs Cato's expiring contract ($8.6 million this season) to create the salary-cap space to re-sign both comfortably and keep together its vaunted starting lineup.

After Wallace and Billups re-sign, all five Pistons starters will possess contracts averaging at least $10 million per season -- an NBA rarity but a necessity for Pistons president Joe Dumars given the success and relative youth (Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace are both 31) of the group.

While Orlando continues to explore its Steve Francis trade options, this move would give Milicic a chance to play immediately alongside franchise forward Dwight Howard. It might also eventually give the Magic two highly touted but unproven European big men for its frontcourt rotation, with the Magic still hopeful they will have 2005 first-round pick Fran Vazquez (who controversially elected to play in Spain this season) in the near future.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.

Drbio · 02-14-2006, 11:54 PM

You are damn fast MFF. I was just about to post this.

Dtownsfinest · 02-15-2006, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Milicic hasn't played much more for Saunders than he did for Larry Brown, unleashing a new wave of second-guesses on Detroit's decision to draft the Serbian 7-footer over Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade

My goodness. Hell even throw in Hinrich, Ridnour and J-Ho. Just imagine if the Pistons would've gotten any of those guys. Especially Wade.

capitalcity · 02-15-2006, 12:43 AM

Joe Dumars is an average GM.

Dtownsfinest · 02-15-2006, 12:53 AM

I gotta disagree. His rarely missed and when he's missed it hasn't really hurt the Pistons.

Traded Grant Hill for Ben Wallace.
Traded for Corliss Williamson who went on to went the 6th man award.
Stole Rip Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse
Traded a late 1st rounder and got Carlos Arroyo in return.
Got Rasheed Wallace and Mike James for basically nothing.
Drafted Tayshaun Prince and Mehmet Okur.
Signed Antonio Mcdyess who some assumed was finished.
Signed current MVP candidate Chauncey Billups.

Not to mention the last 3 coaches for the Pistons have been Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown and Flip Saunders. I think he's done a pretty good job. Hell outside of the Milicic move what has he done bad?

Thespiralgoeson · 02-15-2006, 01:11 AM

I'm still not buying the idea that the Pistons made a mistake in drafting Darko. Hard to imagine Melo, Wade, or Bosh becomming stars if they only play 5 minutes a game in total garbage time. Those guys all got drafted by horrible teams who could afford to put a rookie in their starting lineup and have him be ther no. 1 scoring option. Darko had the bad luck of being drafted by the team that had the best record in the conference the previous year and went on to win the title that year. I hope this deal happens so Darko can finally start his NBA career and have the opportunity to prove that he's not a bust.

Dirkenstien · 02-15-2006, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtownsfinest

I gotta disagree. His rarely missed and when he's missed it hasn't really hurt the Pistons.

Traded Grant Hill for Ben Wallace.
Traded for Corliss Williamson who went on to went the 6th man award.
Stole Rip Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse
Traded a late 1st rounder and got Carlos Arroyo in return.
Got Rasheed Wallace and Mike James for basically nothing.
Drafted Tayshaun Prince and Mehmet Okur.
Signed Antonio Mcdyess who some assumed was finished.
Signed current MVP candidate Chauncey Billups.

Not to mention the last 3 coaches for the Pistons have been Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown and Flip Saunders. I think he's done a pretty good job. Hell outside of the Milicic move what has he done bad?

Good post D-town... but in relation to all of that, drafting Millicic when Wade, Carmelo and Bosh were still on the board is like acing a final exam and then forgetting to write your name on it. That is one freaking huge mistake.

capitalcity · 02-15-2006, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtownsfinest

I think he's done a pretty good job.

...and he has, but Joe screwed the pooch with the 2nd pick in the deepest draft in years.

Color me unimpressed.

Thespiralgoeson · 02-15-2006, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirkenstien

Good pst D-town... but in relation to all of that, drafting Millicic when Wade, Carmelo and Bosh were still on the board is like acing a final exam and then forgetting to write your name on it. That is one huge freaking mistake.

I reiterate. Really, am I the only person that remembers how much buzz there was about Darko before the draft that year? He was already predicted to be drafted either 2nd or 3rd well before the Pistons got the pick. Indeed, the general consensus was that he would've been the no. 1 pick just about any other year, not being in the same draft as LeBron. It was long before the lottery that he was already one of that year's "big three" with LeBron and Carmelo.

Dirkenstien · 02-15-2006, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

I reiterate. Really, am I the only person that remembers how much buzz there was about Darko before the draft that year? He was already predicted to be drafted either 2nd or 3rd well before the Pistons got the pick. Indeed, the general consensus was that he would've been the no. 1 pick just about any other year, not being in the same draft as LeBron. It was long before the lottery that he was already one of that year's "big three" with LeBron and Carmelo.

My only response to that is that there better be some pretty high turnover occuring in a lot of teams' souting departments if that was the overwhelming notion preceding the draft. Not to mention the fact that blindly following the general consensus is always a dangerous avenue in the first place.

alby · 02-15-2006, 01:37 AM

Arroyo, does this mean Franchise is going for sure. And if so, for who? Looking at the Orlando team which includes Dwight Howard aka future of the NBA imo, they need a star 2 or 3 in return for Francis. I don't know who they can get, I just really want this kid to have a good team around him and not be wasted.

capitalcity · 02-15-2006, 01:42 AM

Monday morning quarterbacking is sometimes trite and overblown - in this case however, the scrutiny is deserved. While I agree that Detroit isn't necessarily hurting because of it, blowing the pick he esentially built up the only other team worth a damn in the East.

Joe Dumars took the Pepsi Challenge... and picked Coke.

Hell, since we're second guessing, I think Kiki should've taken Wade over Carmelo.

Dirkenstien · 02-15-2006, 01:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alby

Arroyo, does this mean Franchise is going for sure. And if so, for who?

It certainly does appear that way. Denver seems to be the team showing the most interest right now but they want to unload Kenyon Martin's contract before landing Francis. They'll most likely look for some type of expiring contract so to not ascend past the tax threshold when resigning Carmelo in the offseason.

alby · 02-15-2006, 01:44 AM

You can't consider Dumars as just a decent GM. He has built a contender solely based on players that were not wanted by other teams, you gotta give this guy credit. IMO, he is the best GM in the NBA today.

alby · 02-15-2006, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirkenstien

It certainly does appear that way. Denver seems to be the team showing the most interest right now but they want to unload Kenyon Martin's contract before landing Francis. They'll most likely look for some type of expiring contract so to not ascend past the tax threshold when resigning Carmelo in the offseason.

Why would Orlando do that deal though? Why take on K-Mart and his contract when you already have a franchise power forward? Or do you think the K-Mart and Francis deals will be totally separate?

Dirkenstien · 02-15-2006, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capitalcity

Hell, since we're second guessing, I think Kiki should've taken Wade over Carmelo.

How did Wade do in his last college season? I honestly can't remember, however, Carmelo's leading his team to the championship and performing well in the tourney didn't hurt his draft postioning one bit.

alby · 02-15-2006, 01:50 AM

Carmelo was a good pick.

Dirkenstien · 02-15-2006, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alby

Why would Orlando do that deal though? Why take on K-Mart and his contract when you already have a franchise power forward? Or do you think the K-Mart and Francis deals will be totally separate?

Orlando doesn't have any interest in Kenyon Martin so the deals will have to either be separate or part of a larger three team trade. Right now New York seems to be pushing for Kenyon's services the most and have the expiring contract (Anfernee Hardaway) to pull a deal off.

alby · 02-15-2006, 01:53 AM

According to what I hear out of New York, Eddy Curry and Channing Frye are considered untouchable. Why would they go after a front court player with that type of contract if this was truly the case?

Dirkenstien · 02-15-2006, 02:03 AM

New York is shying away from any trade discussions involving Channing Fry mostly because a lot of teams are showing a lot of interest in him. Knick's management is worried other teams see more than they do and are going to hold on to him for now. Larry Brown has stated he is looking for an energetic power forward to line up beside Eddy Curry so to possibly improve his lethargic playing as of late. New York has never been a team to shy away from a big contract, and it looks like Isiah Thomas is going to do whatever neccessary to appease Brown's wishes.

alby · 02-15-2006, 02:07 AM

What a joke of a team those Knicks are by the way.

Starbury/Crawford/Rose/Kmart/Curry would be pretty good.

Hell, Starbury/Crawford/Rose/Frye/Curry would be pretty good if they played under a different coach.

capitalcity · 02-15-2006, 02:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirkenstien

How did Wade do in his last college season? I honestly can't remember, however, Carmelo's leading his team to the championship and performing well in the tourney didn't hurt his draft postioning one bit.

Dwayne put Marquette on his back and took them to the Final Four. They had a good backcourt with travis deiner, but it was pretty much the d. wade show.

Carmelo wasn't doing it alone. Gerry McNamarra and Hakim Warrick were big contributors on that orangemen team.

twelli · 02-15-2006, 02:40 AM

I look forward to watch Darko playing on a lousy team. I wouldn't be surprised to see him become a decent player over the long term.

But maybe, he's just like Kwame...

Dirkenstien · 02-15-2006, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capitalcity

Dwayne put Marquette on his back and took them to the Final Four. They had a good backcourt with travis deiner, but it was pretty much the d. wade show.

Carmelo wasn't doing it alone. Gerry McNamarra and Hakim Warrick were big contributors on that orangemen team.

True, but let's not forget Denver had intentions (and fulfilled those intentions) of landing Andre Miller in Free Agency that offseason. Ofcourse, Wade and Miller would have made a pretty nice backcourt but Denver's frontcourt was pretty pathetic at the forward positions.

Wade is the better player now, but Denver made the right pick at the time.

capitalcity · 02-15-2006, 03:13 AM

I'm not really knocking carmelo as much as I'm praising wade.

Wade is a special player - he's the type of guy you take regardless of need.

EricaLubarsky · 02-15-2006, 03:44 AM

drafting Milicic was a terrible move, but him along with Aroyo, a guy that Detroit wants gone for a first round pick and Kelvin Cato, who might bring something in limited minutes?

that is genius. Cato for Milicic would have been a good move.

That said, how long until Francis calls U-haul and a moving company?

Arne · 02-15-2006, 06:31 AM

I still think Darko Millicic has a great future. Damn, the guy is 20 years old, hasn't had any chance to prove himself, nor a real chance to developpe, since he plays on a team that simply has a very talented frontcourt.

I mean some of these guys in the draft were as old as he is now when they were drafted.
Millicic is even right now one of the best shotblockers in the league with 5.3 BP48M. His time will come.

Give the guy 2 or 3 years on a team that actually plays him and he'll be fine.

Evilmav2 · 02-15-2006, 08:32 AM

Everything I've read about Darko indicates that the talent that landed him that #2 draft spot is still definitely there, but his attitude, confidence, and work ethic may have been damaged during his first two seasons playing (or usually not playing) under the harsh tongued Larry Brown. I'd bet that a change of location for Darko, coupled with lots and lots of PT might be enough to salvage his career...

jayC · 02-15-2006, 12:16 PM

The Knicks are a joke the highest paid team in the NBA only has a two game lead on the expansion Bobcats.

Darko in a lottery bound situation. He might blossom. It is hard to develop projects on a title team. Who was he going to take minutes away from? Rasheed Wallace, Antonio Mcdyess or Ben Wallace. Hell Jermaine Oneal was stuck on the bench behind Rasheed Wallace.

As far as lottery protection goes this year's draft is supposed to be a pretty weak one. In two years it should be a great one with Greg Oden.

Drbio · 02-15-2006, 01:43 PM

The Knicks are the laughingstock of the NBA.

I like what Dumars has done in Detroit, but his first mistake was culling Carlisle from the herd. That was probably a bad move. The biggest error is the Darko draft. However...taken as a total package his good deeds pretty solidly outweigh his bad. He's done well in Detroit.

Dtownsfinest · 02-15-2006, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirkenstien

Good post D-town... but in relation to all of that, drafting Millicic when Wade, Carmelo and Bosh were still on the board is like acing a final exam and then forgetting to write your name on it. That is one freaking huge mistake.

LOL. Naw i'm co-signing with you. I agree that was a hell of a F up. That Pistons team could be having a starting lineup of Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Dwayne Wade and Chauncey Billups while Rip Hamilton would come off the bench. That would be the scariest team in the league. Joe Dumars shouldn't even get a pass for that. But I give him credit because he took a chance on a 7 footer who he thought had the potential to be a force in this league. And being that they were locked up at about every position they could really go no wrong with that pick. But damn Pistons have to wonder what could've been with Wade on that team.

Dtownsfinest · 02-15-2006, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alby

What a joke of a team those Knicks are by the way.

Starbury/Crawford/Rose/Kmart/Curry would be pretty good.

Hell, Starbury/Crawford/Rose/Frye/Curry would be pretty good if they played under a different coach.

Whooaa now come on now Alby. Under a different coach? Larry Brown is the best coach in the game.

Dtownsfinest · 02-15-2006, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drbio

The Knicks are the laughingstock of the NBA.

I like what Dumars has done in Detroit, but his first mistake was culling Carlisle from the herd. That was probably a bad move. The biggest error is the Darko draft. However...taken as a total package his good deeds pretty solidly outweigh his bad. He's done well in Detroit.

I don't think it was a bad move because we all knew the reputation Larry Brown had. It was similiar to Don Nelson's except at that time Larry Brown was going to any team and making them a great defensive team. But I could see how someone would be upset by the move because we also know what Larry Brown does after he's through developing a team. He goes looking for another team to build ala Bill Parcells. Carlisle had no intention of ever leaving the Pistons.

mcsluggo · 02-15-2006, 02:59 PM

Anybody remember a 7' gangly German 20 year-old who shot in the .300s over-all and in the teens from three-point-land his first season? (although he did get 20 minutes/game to develop anyhow, because his team sucked at that time.)

It takes a while to adjust to the US game. Darko, may well never "make it", but to call him a bust is ridiculuosly premature.

Drbio · 02-15-2006, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtownsfinest

Whooaa now come on now Alby. Under a different coach? Larry Brown is the best coach in the game.

I sure hope that's sarcasm.

spreedom · 02-15-2006, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capitalcity

...and he has, but Joe screwed the pooch with the 2nd pick in the deepest draft in years.

Color me unimpressed.

That is a moot point when the team he is managing has won a championship once, played for a championship twice, and been the best defensive club in the league for 3+ years running.. not to mention they are a shoo-in to make the Finals again this year. How has he done a bad job? Drafting Darko certainly hasn't helped the club, but it very obviously hasn't hurt the club either.

spreedom · 02-15-2006, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtownsfinest

Whooaa now come on now Alby. Under a different coach? Larry Brown is the best coach in the game.

Umm.. Rick Carlisle and Gregg Popovich beg to differ..

jacktruth · 02-15-2006, 04:10 PM

What is Orlando thinking? Milicic is a bust. Did anybody see him in summer league? Trade an expiring contract for him?

The only reason to trade for him is to suck worse for the rest of the year and win the championship of the lottery. That is why they can't agree on whether to protect the pick or not. They are saying, "after we win the lottery next year, we won't suck as bad they year after that, so maybe you could take that pick."

That is what Orlando is thinking.

DirkGoesNuclear · 02-15-2006, 08:20 PM

1. Will Darko turn out to be better, equal, or worse than the Kandiman?

2. Did Detroit pick Darko in their quest to discover the next Nowitzki?

rakesh.s · 02-15-2006, 08:42 PM

darko is going to blow up in orlando and take them to the playoffs...write it down, take a picture..

Whenever he was on the court with Detroit, he was always blocking shots and the points he scored were in the post. He can also shoot from the outside.

Watch out for the howard-darko combo on the frontline.