What is going on between them? I really do not understand Larry Brown's "beef" with this guy. Darko may not have been his draft choice but the way he is treating him now is like a slam or dis on Joe Dumas in a subtle way. Is he officially a burst already? Talking about Dumas - how could he have gotten it so wrong? They were not faced with the same pressure we faced in the Yao Ming draft but they decided to reach instead making a smarter decision (based on the results so far). They could have gone with anyone but they chose Darko. It is possible that Coach is just being stubborn and trying to make a meaningless point but what he fails to realise is that he is hurting the franchise with the way he is handling Darko now. This Detriot team is about the worst offensive team now and their deliberate style maybe the problem Darko is having now - he could flourish in a more free flowing offense. The team will have to excercise their option on him soon but how can one make a good evaluation and decision if he does not get enough minutes?
Do you mean Dumas picked him all on his own? Darko's confidence must be shot now. How much will it hurt the team if they just gave him 10-15 minutes consitently every night at least this season. Detriot could have gotten any of the for the following top 10-14 players instead from that 2003 draft.
wow...just wow What if Melo was picked up by Detroit and Darko was picked up by Denver I really wanted to see what everyone else saw before the draft
Darko is losing value everyday now. Detroit would be wise to trade him while he still has the big P word going for him. He ain't gonna play as long as Larry's in town and the team's winning.
Larry Brown is similar to JVG. They both like to use veterans. This is also why Darko is not being used, and why Yao has become a roleplayer.
Maybe Darko just isn't that good. Kinda like Bostjan for us, didn't get much of a chance and really didn't do anything good when he did. Obviously Darko was suppose to be a lot better than Bostjan however. Also, Darko is on a world championship team. The guys on the floor have great chemistry and there is no need to mess that up trying to develop a 20 year old kid. Brown will most likely retire after this season so there is no real incentive for him to develop Darko. That's just how I see it.
someone needs to create a script that posts the above automatically as soon as any player in the league is mentioned
It's hard to argue with that but the opposite is true as well. If a player doesn't have skills, 48 minutes of PT isn't going to improve them. Brown sees Darko everyday in practice so I think he has a fairly good idea how Darko's development is going regardless of PT.
The guys on ESPN2's NBA Nation last night felt that Larry Brown would walk after this season. I am inclined to agree with them. Brown looks whipped. The tough summer with the Olympics, the Brawl, a tough year with the Pistons and the fact that Brown already won a championship. All signs that he may want to move on. Probably would be good for the Pistons as well, especially for Darko. The guy needs to play. I mean he doesnt even play when the Pistons have a big lead in the 4th quarter. Brown doesnt care about Darko's potential down the road or care about grooming him. Brown wants to win now and that's why Darko isnt on the floor getting some time.
I have a two word rebuttal. Jermaine O'Neal. Checkout his stats for his first four years. Year 1 - 458 minutes Year 2 - 808 minutes Year 3 - 311 minutes Year 4 - 859 minutes Not as bad as Milicic but just a couple of minutes a game nonetheless. He's all of 19 and in his second year. He needs at least 2 more years before one can begin to worry about his production. Of course, that's the problem, because at that point he becomes a free agent. That's why drafting high school age players is so tough.
I have not seen enough of this kid to say if he is good or not. Instead of sitting him why not send him back to Europe so that he can get playing time and horn his skills just like Manu. I am really begining to dislike coach Brown - there is no need for all this power flexing.
I completely lost all respect for Brown after the immature comments about Larry Frank. He may be a brilliant basketball mind, but he has the emotional maturity of a six-year-old.
