Do you remember this guy? I’ll give you a hint, in the 2003 draft he was taken between Carmello Anthony and LeBron James. In fact if you Google the 2003 NBA Draft you’ll see that this guy was taken ahead of several eventual NBA All-Stars.
Give up?
Well it’s Darco Miličić. No?
Detroit picked him #2 overall instead of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, or the aforementioned Anthony. In Detroit’s defense it really didn’t matter since they won the Championship that season. But still, can you imagine a Pistons team that had added Bosh to play with Wallace?
Anyways.
I bring this up because Miličić was recently bought out of his contract with the Timberwolves. But Jay, you said he was drafted #2 by Detroit. How he end up there?
This guy was buried in Detroit. So he was traded to the Magic. He got some playing time but when his rookie contract was up he signed a free agent deal with Memphis. He was plagued by poor play and injuries while with the Grizzlies so they traded him to New York. But after a year and a half he was traded to Minnesota. Where he was just bought out of his contract…good we’re up to speed.
I bring all this up because now that he’s a free agent he’s on the Celtics radar. We know the Celtics have litle to no cap space and could only sign him to he veteran minimum but if he’s willing to come here, I say why not. I think that having him in Doc’s system can maybe realize the potential that made him the #2 overall pick.
Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston had an interesting piece where he shows that Darko’s offense is atrocious but indicates that his defense could help the C’s.
So on a slow news day, it caught my eye. I say take a flier. I’m sure, like I said, with the right coaching his potential could finally be realized. Or it could be like when the Celtics brought in former #1 pick Michael Olowokandi, also a huge draft bust, who did nothing for the team. The difference is Darko is only 27. For the league minimum, let’s give it a shot.
