A friend at work and I have been debating who we would pick if we had the #2 pick. It is a given that Lebron is going number one. However, who would you pick between Darko or Melo. I would pick Melo since he has already proven that he was the best player at the college level and he is only 18 years old so he has just as much upside as anyone. Granted that I've never seen Darko play but he wasn't even the best player in Europe. I know he was only 17 but he is still a gamble where Melo is not.
I would pick Darko because of the development of Tayshaun Prince. Carmelo Anthony and Prince would have to compete for time. Darko is also compared to KG so that's saying alot.
Darko no doubt. You never pass on a big man with this kind of potential. Even they want to trade him some day (doubt it though if he pans out), a big man is much more valuable in the market than a small forward/guard. Plus Detroit clearly need an inside scoring presence and more rebounding (they are the worst rebounding team in the nba despite Big Ben) than another outside threat (they are well covered there with Hamilton and Billups). Detroit are said to absolutely love Darko. They have great international scouts so I kinda trust what they scout very much.
