Darko’s story

To hear Minnesota center Darko Milicic talk you’d think his career is over. You’d think he has toiled in the NBA for years and was never been given a shot. The problem is while the other gems of the 2003 NBA Draft class prepare for their second monster payday in July, Milicic still has not proven he belongs and is pretty bitter about how things have played out for him in the NBA.

“When I look back now, this isn’t how my career was supposed to look,” Milicic said to Paul Forrester of Sports Illustrated. “Being a defensive guy, all of this time not playing, that’s not how I saw my career, that’s not how I enjoy playing. That’s why I’ve decided to take a shot and go back to Europe. I’m 24, I’m still young. So I can still be happy overseas.”

“Everybody said this is how it goes in the NBA,” Milicic said. “You’ve got to watch first, you’ve got to learn. It’s all bull. I didn’t learn anything by watching. There is no practice in the world even close to game situations. They’re trying to keep you happy, trying to keep you thinking your time is around the corner, but it’s a lie. You can’t keep everybody happy. But I was in the flow and listened to them. And now it’s too late.”

Darko’s story is clearly a sad one, but there is a bit of revisionist history taking place. The Orlando Magic traded for Darko in 2006 and gave him a chance to play with Dwight Howard. When free agency rolled around in 2007, Darko chased the free agent money to Memphis which was the beginning of the end for him. The Grizzlies ultimately traded him to New York this passed summer, where head coach Mike D’Antoni actually coveted his game. Darko simply did not deliver and fell out of the rotation.

Darko blames former Pistons’ head coach Larry Brown for his situation, saying he was never given a chance in Detroit who selected him with the second overall pick in 2003, and it was that situation that took him away from his game.

“He is a guy who doesn’t understand anything,” said Milicic of Brown. “A guy who can’t understand what kind of player you are. Even if I made a shot, he’d tell me it was not a good shot.

“That took my mind off basketball. I got frustrated and wondered, If they weren’t going to put me in the game, why was I [in Detroit]? So I started thinking of stupid stuff and began not caring about the game, not trying to get better.”

Darko is sticking to his plan of leaving the NBA this summer and returning to play in Europe. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been getting decent play out of Darko – he’s averaging 23 minutes a game in his last five games.

The Wolves have said they would be open to re-signing him this summer. Darko says he’s thankful for the Wolves’ interest and support, but the plan is still to head home to Europe which will likely close the door on Darko Milicic in the NBA.
-steve k