Darko is no longer in Detroit.
The trade sending Milicic and Carlos Arroyo to the Orlando Magic for their #1 (top-five protected) pick in 2007 and Kelvin Cato is complete. The Magic currently have the 5th worst record in the league, so unless Orlando is able to go under a transformation over the next year and a half, Dumars will have finally exorcised the ghost that’s been haunting him since 2003 draft, getting a good draft pick in return. Dumars had the opportunity to draft Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh, but instead chose to invest the pick in a 18-year-old Serbian.
In Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider article (membership required), he details the reasoning behind the pick.
By the time Pistons international scout Tony Ronzone and I arrived in Serbia in December 2002 for what would be my first look at the 17-year-old, Darko had a pack of scouts following him wherever he went. After Darko’s dominant performance in Greece at the FIBA Final Four, it became a given that he would be a top-three pick in the NBA draft.
Just 67 hours into his arrival into the U.S., the deal was sealed on May 23, 2003. I happened to be there to chronicle it all. The Pistons were practicing at the John Jay College gym in New York for a playoff game with the Nets. Darko was working out in the adjacent court, behind a curtain. One by one, the Pistons, including Dumars, head coach Rick Carlisle, Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups, trickled in to watch him work out. What was supposed to be a casual shootaround became a full-on workout in minutes. Darko put on a show that day, hitting shots from everywhere in the court, showing great footwork in the paint and doing everything at a furious pace.
Darko would follow up with another strong workout in Detroit. While the Pistons momentarily flirted with the idea of drafting Bosh after his own stellar workout in Detroit, Dumars’ heart was set on Darko. Meanwhile, right until the draft, Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe was actively trying to swap picks with Detroit so that he could select Darko ahead of Carmelo. All in all, about half of the GMs I talked to in the days leading up to the 2003 draft had Darko ranked No. 2 on their draft boards, behind LeBron. Everyone else I talked to had him third or fourth. No one I talked to had him ranked behind Wade.
I still think the kid can play. He looks smooth when he does get minutes, but he’s lost the confidence that he once had. Much of that is due to Larry Brown.
Darko’s first NBA coach, Larry Brown, has long been suspicious of rookies and wanted Darko to forget about doing all the things that he, like so many other Euros, did well — play the complete floor game. Instead, Brown wanted him to play with his back to the basket.
Even without Brown’s skepticism, there was hardly any chance for Darko to play in Detroit. The Pistons peaked just as Darko entered the picture. For more than two years, the Pistons’ starting five has been as solid as any other in the league. No one was breaking into it — especially not an 18-year-old big man.
This is a good deal for all the major players involved. Dumars gets rid of his biggest “mistake,” and will eventually (the pick is top-five protected in ’07 but is unprotected in ’08) get a first round draft pick in return. Orlando gets a player that, had he stayed overseas the last two years, would have probably been the #1 pick in the ’06 draft. Milicic will get to play alongside Dwight Howard, who usually plays with his back to the basket. That will allow Milicic to play to his strengths, facing the hoop.
Most importantly, the kid gets a fresh start, which is exactly what he needs.
