HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Jorge Sierra

Darko Milicic has not been the only No. 2 pick not to pan out in the NBA. Milicic, though, has been singled out more than any other in recent history because of the company he kept in his draft. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Chris Kaman and Josh Howard, all first-round picks like Milicic in the impressive 2003 class, have combined for 24 All-Star appeareances seven years later.

Milicic, meanwhile, has not even had 24 double-doubles in his NBA career.

That’s not too shabby for the much-hyped Serbian center, who was projected to be the next big thing coming from the other side of the Atlantic early in the past decade, when selecting promising but untested Euro players was the trend in the league.

The 7-foot Milicic, just like Nikoloz Tskitishvili or Yaroslav Korolev, didn’t meet the expectations. In his case, though, they were oftentimes overwhelming.

“He’s going to own the game,” late Pistons scout Will Robinson said back in 2003. “We’re going to have to build a new arena. The only thing that could destroy a kid like that is a woman.”

Or maybe a coach.

Milicic has often blamed Larry Brown, who coached him from 2003 to 2005 in Detroit, for some of his shortcomings in the NBA. He played just 551 minutes in two years and a half with the Pistons, which greatly held back his development and maybe forever hurt his confidence and focus.

“Larry Brown was not my favorite coach,” Milicic told HoopsHype.com. “He didn’t like me and I didn’t like him. He’s not a bad coach, but he wasn’t good to me.”

While Brown didn’t help his progress, that still doesn’t explain why Milicic – after a successful short stint in Orlando in the months leading up to free agency – wasn’t able to deliver in Memphis, where he signed a three-year, $21 million contract and went on to average just 6.3 ppg and 5.2 rpg, or New York, where head coach Mike D’Antoni put him to even less use than Brown.

Things are looking up a little bit for Milicic, still just 24, after February’s trade to Minnesota – to the point that he’s now leaving the door ajar to possibly staying in the NBA after openly stating that he was heading back to Europe after this season.

“I don’t think I’m going to change my mind, but you never know,” Milicic said. “Stuff happens that you don’t expect to happen. For me, I’m just looking for one consistent season where I can play the same kind of minutes all season long and not be just a bench guy. Right now, I think that’s going to happen in Europe. I want to be part of a winning team. And besides, in Europe every game is a must-win game. I like that pressure. Here’s different. There’s a lot of games and only the playoff games matter. The rest of the season, what are you playing for?”

Kurt Rambis, the rookie coach of the non-playoff bound Timberwolves, is one of the reasons why he’s enjoying the experience in Minnesota a little more than his previous stops.

“He’s adjusting because it’s his first head coaching job in the NBA,” Milicic said. “He’s got a lot of new players on the team, a lot of young players. But he’s a good coach. He got the chance to be an assistant to Phil Jackson, so you know he’s been able to learn from the best. He’s a guy that’s been able to inspire us. There’s good stuff coming from him.”

Whether we get more good stuff coming from Milicic in the NBA remains to be seen. At this point, more than any other thing, he sounds like a player looking to be embraced.

“The country doesn’t matter,” Milicic said. “I just want a team that trusts me and has a goal – winning a championship, making it into the Euroleague, whatever. I just want to enjoy playing basketball.”

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You worked out for several teams that last few weeks. Why did you choose Sacramento and not any of the the other teams?

Sean May: Just because I liked the fact that Sacramento is a young team, with a lot of young guys that are also talented. They have a new staff coming in. They’ve always had great fan support and the community there is great. It was just a good fit. The other teams I worked out for, sure I could have gone there. I just thought it was a better opportunity in Sacramento.

Did you have other offers on the table aside from Sacramento?

SM: I did have an offer from Cleveland. We were also taking to Portland, but no offer on the table from them.

What kind of player do you see yourself becoming for the Kings?

SM: A guy that can come in and help them win games. I feel like I can play inside/out. I can help with my rebounding ability. I just think it’s a good fit. I just can help them.

You’ve had some injury problems that have kept you off the court. How would you rate your health now?

SM: Feel great. My knees are strong. It’s the best I’ve felt in a long, long time. Yeah, I’ve had knee injuries that have taken me long to overcome, but I’m fine right now. My career is hopefully going to be injury-free from this point on.

What are the learning experiences you take from your years playing with the Bobcats?

SM: I loved the city of Charlotte and I loved playing for the organization. It’s been great for me. They’ve always supported me. Unfortunately, I have been been injured and I wasn’t able to live up to the expectations for myself that I had and the ones the organization had for me. It was great while I was in Charlotte, but I just felt it was time for a fresh start.

What kind of relationship you had with Larry Brown and Michael Jordan there?

SM: Larry Brown and I were fine. Great coach. Tremendous teacher. I think he’s one of the few guys in the league who actually teaches. MJ, my relationship with him was great. I never had a bad relationship with anybody on the staff or the organization.

How different was Larry Brown to other coaches you’ve had in your career?

SM: He’s a little bit different. Obviously, he’s more old-school in certain ways. He teaches a lot more than other NBA coaches. He was great as far as his understanding of the game and his language with the players. But he can be difficult to play for at times ’cause he’s hard on all players.

When did you realize the conditioning/weight issues you’ve had were becoming a real issue for your NBA career?

SM: Honestly, I never felt like I had weight issues. You know, I asked them where they wanted me to play at. They said 260 and I was around 260 all year. Conditioning? When you don’t play, it’s tough to be in game shape. I felt like I’ve always been in pretty good shape. I don’t feel like the conditioning was the reason why I wasn’t playing. I just wasn’t playing.

There were fans in Charlotte that were very critical with you. Was it tough? How did you deal with that?

SM: Oh yeah. It’s always tough when people criticize, when they are critical of you. But you deal with it and you go on. I think that anything you do, people are going to have an opinion. If you can take the good, then you should be able to take the bad. I understand that people were critical with me. Yeah, it bothered me. But life will go on and I’ll do what I’ll do.

What do you say to all the people that have written you off?

SM: I would say that I understand that they have an opinion and I appreciate that. But that’s my goal, that’s what I will do… I will prove everybody wrong. Yeah, there’s people that have written me off and that’s fine. I understand that and I accept that challenge.

Do you stay in touch with your teammates at North Carolina?

SM: Oh yeah, without a doubt. I live in Chapel Hill in the summer with Marvin (Williams). I talked to Raymond (Felton) actually yesterday. Jawad Williams, I’m going to his wedding today. We are all really close. We always stay in contact with each other.

Which of those guys do you think have a better chance of becoming a star in the NBA?

SM: I think Marvin has a really good chance of becoming a star. He’s gotten better every year. He averages double figures. Once he gets in a situation when his role is a little bit bigger, you’ll see a lot more from him. Same situation with Raymond. I think he’ll end up being a real star in this league. Rashad (McCants) and I are in kind of in the same position right now. We’re fighting right now for an opportunity.

You think Raymond Felton is going to stay in Charlotte? What’s going to happen with that?

SM: I don’t know. And right now, he doesn’t now. Right now, it’s just a waiting game. As of now the situation in the NBA… A lot of teams aren’t spending money right now. You’re just waiting to see what happens. David Lee, everyone thought he’d be locked up right now, but he’s waiting for a contract. You see what happens and just go on.

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