Rambis Sees Promise In Darko, Will Milicic Still Head Home To Europe?

Darko Milicic may have finally found an NBA coach who appreciates the talents he has; the question now becomes is it too late to save the European born player from leaving the NBA this summer? Back in December Darko said that he had grown too frustrated with life in the NBA after playing seven seasons and would head back to Europe next season. Milicic felt he had been deceived during his stint in the NBA starting with the Detroit Pistons who drafted him with the second pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.
This season Milicic started out the season with “MY BOYS” the New York Knicks and had once again become a forgotten man. “Mlive.com” sat down with the big man in December and asked him if he thought that the Pistons had lied to him during his time with the team. Milicic responded “Yes, they did. “They lie to everybody. It’s the NBA. The NBA, all around the league, same (stuff). ‘Your chance is going to come.’ All that kind of (stuff). (Forget) that! I’ve got enough of that kind of stuff, so I decided I’m going to Europe. I don’t know why they took me with the second pick if you’re not going to play me. I never understood that, you know. I was happy being the second pick and all that kind of stuff, but I never knew what I got myself into. I never knew I was coming here not to play. Nobody was telling me anything.”
He told reporters that he was resigned to going back home and playing next season in the Euro-League. Milicic said “I’ve got to be real. There is no team in the league that is going to give me the chance that I’m looking for. My only chance is back in Europe. I’m going to do that. I want to be happy. I want to play.”
Darko was traded from the Knicks on February 18, to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Brian Cardinal. New York waived Cardinal but T-Wolves head coach Kurt Rambis is quite impressed with Milicic. He thinks that the big man has a huge upside. Rambis told the “Star Tribune“ that Darko is a multi-talented guy. The Timberwolves bench boss said “We’re seeing glimpses of tremendous potential for him and for us. He made a pass to Ramon Sessions that Ramon wasn’t even looking for, probably assuming there was no way Darko was going to get him the basketball. He has such tremendous vision and passing capabilities. We really haven’t seen an exorbitant amount of what he can do scoring, but it’s there. It’s just starting to poke out. That’s why we’re doing things in practice to encourage him to not only pass the basketball but also look for his own opportunities.”
New York Vinnie believes that Milicic has gotten a raw deal by the NBA and hopes that the big man will change his mind about going back home. New York Vinnie thinks it would be a shame that just when Darko may have found the right situation he would still leave. Life works in mysterious ways; hopefully this will lead to a beneficial relationship for all involved.








New York Vinnie will never start a fight, but he's not afraid to finish one.. Mess with New York Vinnie and he'll rip your nuts off and throw them down the sewer!