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.

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)?

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.

i'll take the potential of Darko over Carmelo anyday

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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]