The Detroit Pistons are close to trading forward Darko Milicic and guard Carlos Arroyo to the Orlando Magic for Kelvin Cato and a lottery-protected, first round draft pick.
Less than three years ago, Pistons GM Joe Dumars had the #2 pick in the 2003 draft. Everyone knew that the Cavs were going to take LeBron James, so that left guys like Milicic, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich and T.J. Ford for Dumars to choose from. Each of the players listed after Milicic have had varied success in the league. Wade is a superstar, while Bosh and Anthony are confirmed stars. Kaman has developed into a top 10 center, while Hinrich and Ford are two of the better young guards in the league.
Dumars has said that he drafted Milicic because he could afford to. The Pistons were coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance (where they lost to the New Jersey Nets) and instead of adding an NBA-ready player, he decided to draft for potential. It was a risky move, and by all accounts, it backfired. But Dumars has gotten a pass on this misstep, mainly because the team won the title the next season and appeared in the finals the year after. This year, the Pistons have the league’s best record, so it’s hard to nitpick Dumars’ past decisions.
But how good would the Pistons be with Chris Bosh coming off the bench? The Pistons could eventually let Rasheed Wallace go, bringing Bosh in to start alongside the other Wallace. Or how about Dwayne Wade in the starting lineup, moving Rip Hamilton to sixth man status?
But this is all conjecture, because had Dumars not taken Milicic, he probably would have taken Carmelo Anthony. At the time, Tayshaun Prince hadn’t yet emerged as a solid player and many thought Dumars would select Anthony and upgrade the small forward position. But would the Pistons be better off with the offensive-minded Anthony in the starting lineup instead of the defensive-minded, consummate-role player Prince? I don’t think so.
So now Darko should get a chance to play. In the limited minutes that I’ve seen, he has looked like a fundamentally sound big man. His “Per 48” stats (stats projected out to 48 minutes per game) for this season aren’t bad: 12.8 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 5.8 bpg and 8.6 fpg. His ability to swat has to be the most encouraging thing about his game, but his propensity to foul is a bit worrisome. He was unable to crack Larry Brown’s rotation and has been unable to crack Flip Saunders’ as well, which has prompted this move. If the trade does go through, he should have ample time to play alongside Dwight Howard, who is one of the great young forwards in the game. Since he’s been unable to earn playing time thus far, maybe if he’s given time he’ll finally be able to shed the nagging “bust” label.
And if Dumars is able to get a first round pick in return, and turn that pick into a productive player, he can forget all about that 2003 draft.
