Darko Milicic?

[Vlade4GM]

i gotta agree with Joker. we're headed toward the lottery and need some young players who will make an impact. say we sign Williams to a real contract, draft Oden, and sign Darko for some good money. Oden, Darko, and Justin Williams as our frontcourt guys? thats like a dream come true. you have the young upstart who can very well be a great defensive player in Williams. Darko's just gonna get better. And Oden might be the next Tim Duncan. Then we have Martin who will be the face of the franchise and a possible all star. Then, we sign Billups, who is a veteran with playoff/finals experience who can lead our youngsters. Then pick up a few more bigs, like Varejao!

The Maloofs have the money to spend. They need to start doing it. If they let Petrie spend some cash we'll have a great team.

i agree that darko is a good target in principle, but it's about using that much cap space on a guy who's unproven and as far as we know only provides one thing. people who think block shots equal good defense are seriously mistaken.

 

[Chim Richulds]

I would love to get Darko, but not for $60m. He's simply not worth it.

Right now, he's a definite $7m/yr player...but some teams are equally desperate and dumb enough to fork over a 8-figure salary to an unproven big. Signing Darko for such a large salary would limit the Kings from signing other quality FA's - and possibly put us in the position we are right now, with some overpaid players limiting the amount of talent we can bring in.

 

[vj9999]

For everyone who is so against Darko trade. How many Magic games have you seen this year?

Biggest problem I have with Darko is inconsistency, but that has a lot to do with playing time and how Brian Hill is using him. He is often fighting for the same rebounds as the beast Howard so. He is a very good defender, ok shooter and a good shot blocker. He also has a good court vision. Not as good of a passer like Vlade was, but I'd dare to say he is Vlade in training.

Considering his size, above average D and excellent shot blocking he should get the money that was suggested his agent was asking.

Spending that kind of money on Darko is a pretty good investment in my opinion. Sure any investment can be a bust, but it's still worth a risk.

 

[Vlade4GM]

For everyone who is so against Darko trade. How many Magic games have you seen this year?

Biggest problem I have with Darko is inconsistency, but that has a lot to do with playing time and how Brian Hill is using him. He is often fighting for the same rebounds as the beast Howard so. He is a very good defender, ok shooter and a good shot blocker. He also has a good court vision. Not as good of a passer like Vlade was, but I'd dare to say he is Vlade in training.

Considering his size, above average D and excellent shot blocking he should get the money that was suggested his agent was asking.

Spending that kind of money on Darko is a pretty good investment in my opinion. Sure any investment can be a bust, but it's still worth a risk.

whether he'd do better with more PT or not is speculative hence why it's too much money given out on potential. it has the nene deal written all over it. 5-7 mil a year, ok.

 

[nbrans]

For everyone who is so against Darko trade. How many Magic games have you seen this year?

Biggest problem I have with Darko is inconsistency, but that has a lot to do with playing time and how Brian Hill is using him. He is often fighting for the same rebounds as the beast Howard so. He is a very good defender, ok shooter and a good shot blocker. He also has a good court vision. Not as good of a passer like Vlade was, but I'd dare to say he is Vlade in training.

Considering his size, above average D and excellent shot blocking he should get the money that was suggested his agent was asking.

Spending that kind of money on Darko is a pretty good investment in my opinion. Sure any investment can be a bust, but it's still worth a risk.

I've seen my share of Darko games, and I've never seen anything that really makes me very excited. You can see his vast potential and yet you can also see how he is sleepwalking -- through a contract year no less!! The problem with Darko has never been raw ability it's all about his mindset, and this season he's been by and large uninspired and uninspiring.

 

[vfettke]

i think a $60 million contract is too much and i doubt he'll get that much. But $7-8, or even 9, million a year, is worth the gamble in my honest opinion. i'd prefer to sign him for decent money now then see him sign somewhere else and end up being a huge defensive presence that we could have used but passed on because we were cheap.

 

[vfettke]

I've seen my share of Darko games, and I've never seen anything that really makes me very excited. You can see his vast potential and yet you can also see how he is sleepwalking -- through a contract year no less!! The problem with Darko has never been raw ability it's all about his mindset, and this season he's been by and large uninspired and uninspiring.

he's perfect for Musselman's system!!!

 

[TheJoker]

I expected alot of people to value, defense but it looks like i was wrong. lets keep the puffy front-court we have YEAH!!!!!!!!!
​

 

[vj9999]

The problem with Darko has never been raw ability it's all about his mindset, and this season he's been by and large uninspired and uninspiring.

That's why I said inconsistent He's had inspired and uninspired games. He doesn't show emotions so you can't really tell if he's enjoying the game or if he is not interested at all.

60 mil sounds like alot (and probably is), but unless we get a good big through draft we are looking at at least that much. IT could be a risk, but if it pans out he is only 21 and not even near his prime.

I understand opposing views though, but then again how much are we paying Brad Miller

 

[vj9999]

I expected alot of people to value, defense but it looks like i was wrong. lets keep the puffy front-court we have YEAH!!!!!!!!!
​

I think he is much better defender than any of his stats show. A

 

[Bricklayer]

I will say this -- if we were to get Darko, I would very much be knocking on the Maloofs doorstep and telling them its time to mend some fences and throw a little cash as well toward Vlade as a mentor. Darko impresses me as somebody a bit like Peja who might really need an encouraging mentor to inspire him -- does not seem to be self driven toward greatness.

 

[VF21]

I expected alot of people to value, defense but it looks like i was wrong. lets keep the puffy front-court we have YEAH!!!!!!!!!
​

Yep, looks like you were wrong...

People value defense. What they don't particularly value is paying $60 million to Darko. Sorry if that offends your sensibilities, but we're not quite willing to worship at his feet the way you apparently are...

 

[16to93]

I will say this -- if we were to get Darko, I would very much be knocking on the Maloofs doorstep and telling them its time to mend some fences and throw a little cash toward Vlade as well as a mentor. Darko impresses me as somebody a bit like Peja who might really need an encouraging mentor to insire him -- does not seem to be self driven toward greatness.

Totally agree - I couldn't of made a better mentor for Darko myself.

 

[Chim Richulds]

Seriously, great idea Brick. If we can't get Vlade, the Kings are in definite need of some veteran/specialist coaching staff to teach our young guys & developing players. Think Kareem & Bynum...or Coachie & Martin.

Back on topic - what does everybody see as the potential teams that would sign Darko, as well as the teams dumb enough to give him a Nene/Big Ben-sized deal (aka not us). This would give us an idea if we'd even have a shot at the big guy come summer. And speaking of which, is this really the kind of player Petrie would sign?

 

[nbrans]

Back on topic - what does everybody see as the potential teams that would sign Darko, as well as the teams dumb enough to give him a Nene/Big Ben-sized deal (aka not us). This would give us an idea if we'd even have a shot at the big guy come summer. And speaking of which, is this really the kind of player Petrie would sign?

I'd say the contenders to overpay Darko would be Orlando, Memphis, Atlanta and Sacramento (if Bibby opts out).

And yes, he seems to me to be the type of player Petrie would sign, actually. He's multi-skilled for a big man, something Petrie likes. And Petrie also isn't afraid to guys who haven't really panned out but show a lot of promise (i.e. Bobby/Salmons)

 

[rhythmless]

nbrans, thats actually a great point about the petrie signings. the difference is that darko has never been under the radar. whoever wins darko is definitely in for a bidding war, and if thats the case, then a nene contract could happen. if everyone is willing to pay 8 mil/year, whats the extra 1 or 2, if it gets you a big man who has all the potential (yeah, i used the p word) in the world? there are worse ways to spend your money... like that mil we wasted on mo taylor

 

[LPKingsFan]

Think if we really wanted Darko, it would make sense to get him THIS year, so we have matching rights this summer (people seem to forget that he is a restricted FA this summer, and Orland has the right to match). That way you can decide whether you want to overpay him or not.

 

[rhythmless]

sure it makes sense... now tell me how the kings would go about getting the magic to consensually give us darko this year? not gonna happen.

 

[beb0p]

At this point, the WORST thing that could happen to the Kings is to give some
journeyman a big multi-year contract. Just mention "Eddie Robinson" to the Bulls fans and you'll understand why.

I'm also high on Milicic. But when I say he has potential, it's potential to go from a bench player to solid starter. Giving him $60 mil a year is the kind of thing that got Isiah Thomas in trouble. Milicic at his best is a 10pts 10 rebs guy with 2 blocks and some inspired moment and some sleepwalking ones. He is NOT a franchise player so it'd be stupid to offer him franchise money.

I think Milicic will eventually turns into a Kwame Brown, solid defender who can grab a few rebounds and score occasionally, nothing more. Now, if offereing someone like Kwame a big contract is your cup of tea when frankly, I doubt anyone will convince you otherwise.

I don't mind a gamble if it's worthwhile. But putting your entire chips on Darko Milicic is just nuts.