Darko Milicic

[llosis]

Did Detroit stuff up by taking Darko over Carmelo?

It's early days I know but I can't help but think Carmelo and Lebron are going to be the cream of this draft. Darko could be a Nowitzki who looked useless for the first two seasons of his career and then broke out and he is only 18 yo but I just tend to think Carmelo has class all over Darko.

Whaddya reckon? Carmelo or Darko?
(obviously I'm not just talking now but for their careers, who will be the pick?)

 

[Portmanteau]

Darko.

 

[Blues4Life]

Too early to tell.

I said Darko before the season started and nothing he's done (or not done) has changed my opinion of him.

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Making a judgement one week into their careers is ludicrous.

Give them both 4-5 years, then decide.

 

[bacon buster]

darko has hardly had a chance to strut his stuff yet. he is on a playoff bound team, one that could possibly win the east. carmelo is on a team that will more than likely be in the lottery next year, so he is going to get far more opportunities.

 

[Blues4Life]

Originally posted by bacon buster
darko has hardly had a chance to strut his stuff yet. he is on a playoff bound team, one that could possibly win the east. carmelo is on a team that will more than likely be in the lottery next year, so he is going to get far more opportunities.

True, but even if Darko was on a lottery bound team I still don't think he'd do much because he's simply not ready to contribute on an NBA level yet.

The Pistons are a great fit for him as theres no pressure on him to be the immediate 'saviour' or go to guy.

 

[moistie]

Carmello is a good player, but he's a 6'8" swingman who are a dime a dozen in the NBA. Darko is a 7'1" centre/power forward with good ball handling, an outside shot, fairly good defensive skills for someone so young and at 18 the potential to turn into a monster. He's already 260 pounds, and the staff at the Pistons are working with him to ensure he keeps his mobility and doesn't become a brick, as his father was around 6'10" and weighed around 280 pounds.

This argument will rage for a good number of years, with the Carmello boosters having the upper hand as he'll be carrying Denver, will continue to improve in the limelight and will be getting minutes and numbers galore. Darko, on the other hand, has gone to the Divisional Champions who have three seven footers on their roster already (and Ben Wallace at a measly 6'10"). This means he gets to be brought along slowly, taught how to play in the post and what is needed to play defence in the NBA. I seriously doubt we will start to see Darko emerge for another three to four years at least, but by then he will still only be 21 or 22 with another 10+ years of top flight basketball left to him.

I don't doubt Carmello will be a player in the NBA, but you don't pass up the chance to take a highly skilled 7'1" power forward/centre. As has been pointed out on this forum, if you look at all the championship teams excluding the Bulls (because Jordan was a freak, and no-one would compare Carmello to Jordan) they were all built around a centre.

I believe in Joey D!

 

[Falchoon]

Originally posted by moistie
Carmello is a good player, but he's a 6'8" swingman who are a dime a dozen in the NBA. Darko is a 7'1" centre/power forward with good ball handling, an outside shot, fairly good defensive skills for someone so young and at 18 the potential to turn into a monster. He's already 260 pounds, and the staff at the Pistons are working with him to ensure he keeps his mobility and doesn't become a brick, as his father was around 6'10" and weighed around 280 pounds.

This argument will rage for a good number of years, with the Carmello boosters having the upper hand as he'll be carrying Denver, will continue to improve in the limelight and will be getting minutes and numbers galore. Darko, on the other hand, has gone to the Divisional Champions who have three seven footers on their roster already (and Ben Wallace at a measly 6'10"). This means he gets to be brought along slowly, taught how to play in the post and what is needed to play defence in the NBA. I seriously doubt we will start to see Darko emerge for another three to four years at least, but by then he will still only be 21 or 22 with another 10+ years of top flight basketball left to him.

I don't doubt Carmello will be a player in the NBA, but you don't pass up the chance to take a highly skilled 7'1" power forward/centre. As has been pointed out on this forum, if you look at all the championship teams excluding the Bulls (because Jordan was a freak, and no-one would compare Carmello to Jordan) they were all built around a centre.

I believe in Joey D!

Sam Bowie

 

[Stiffy_18]

Originally posted by llosis
Did Detroit stuff up by taking Darko over Carmelo?

It's early days I know but I can't help but think Carmelo and Lebron are going to be the cream of this draft. Darko could be a Nowitzki who looked useless for the first two seasons of his career and then broke out and he is only 18 yo but I just tend to think Carmelo has class all over Darko.

Whaddya reckon? Carmelo or Darko?
(obviously I'm not just talking now but for their careers, who will be the pick?)

Gee we are only a week into the season and already the question is raised.

Darko is a big man that I have seen play on half a dozen occasions last year. The bloke has the potential to be a freak big man and he will take time. Come back and ask us this question in 4-5 years time. Big man generally take a bit longer to break through. Especially if they are as raw as Darko. I still would have picked Darko before Carmelo.

I remember watching a game between Hemofarm and Partizan last year. Krstic was out injured so Perovic had to step in to play centre. It was a Milicic / Perovic showdown. Both blokes showed unlimited potential and I thought to myself, gee these 2 will dominate NBA in years to come.

Perovic is having a bit of a breakout season so far in absance of Krstic and I wouldn't be surprised if he goes top 3 in next draft. He still needs to show his stuff in euroleague. I am confident he can.

 

[jod23]

I voted Anthony. I always though Carmelo should go second but thats not to say Darko wont be an awesome player. But right now Carmelo is a far more effective player at NBA level.

I suppose I havent seen enough of Darko but this comparison can only really be taken seriously in 3 or so years. In Detroit though, would Melo be riding the pine? Probably not.

 

[Portmanteau]

He could be very well riding the pine behind Tayshaun Prince, who is currently a better NBA player.

Anyway, after the Wallace/Hamilton era finishes, wouldn't it be great to know you have a potential top 3 franchise player waiting in the wings? God bless Otis Thorpe.

 

[moistie]

Originally posted by Bresh
He could be very well riding the pine behind Tayshaun Prince, who is currently a better NBA player.

Anyway, after the Wallace/Hamilton era finishes, wouldn't it be great to know you have a potential top 3 franchise player waiting in the wings? God bless Otis Thorpe.

You betcha. Besides, Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Mehmet Okur and Tayshaun Prince are all younger than 25, I believe. This means the Pistons have a team thats contending now, with a possible franchise player learning the ropes. This team could really turn into something special.

 

[hans moleman]

From ESPN's Bill Simmons' (light-hearted) NBA Preview:

"And then there's Carmelo. There are few sure things in life, but this is one of them: Joe Dumars will regret taking Darko over Carmelo. Maybe it won't hit him this season. It might not even hit him until 2007 or 2008. But it's going to happen. This is "Bowie over MJ" all over again. You can't pass up on someone who ...


A) Had the best college season in 15 years


B) Like Bernard King, was practically created by God to play small forward in the NBA


C) Could be the most engaging, likable rookie since MJ


... just because Tayshaun Freaking Prince looked good in the Philly series. Hey, I like Tayshaun -- I could see him being an above-average scorer off the bench for the next eight years. And I'm sure Darko will be fine, even if I can't imagine him being any better than Raef LaFrentz five years from now. But you can't pass up Carmelo Anthony. That's ridiculous. Every Piston fan should have a sick, queasy feeling right now, like the way you feel when you realize you left your bank card in an ATM machine ... only you'll be feeling that way for the next 12 years. Just prepare yourself now. He's that good. I feel very strongly about this."

of course...it's way too early to tell IMO...i haven't even seen enough of Darko to make a guess of it.