12/27/24
July 28, 2005
"I can see clearly now the rain is gone...": The Pistons exercise their option on Darko. Will he still be collecting splinters in '07?
posted by lilnemo to basketball at 03:17 PM - 14 comments
As blasphemous as it may sound, I think the notion that Larry is a good coach for young players is solely based on his time at Kansas, UCLA, and San Antonio. At Kansas he had Danny Manning, not much to do there. UCLA was still recruiting blue chippers, not much there either. As coach of the Spurs Larry presided over a roster that contained rookies David Robinson, Sean Elliott, and Willie Anderson. Hard to take credit for that either. If you look at the list of rookies that Larry "tutored" in this golden age, you begin to wonder why he's thought of as a great teacher of the game to rookies.
| Year | Team | Player | Result |
| 1992 | L.A. Clippers | LeRon Ellis | Out of League by '96. |
| 1992 | L.A. Clippers | Elliot Perry | Traded to Charlotte, had a good journeyman career. |
| 1993 | L.A. Clippers | Randy Woods | Out of League by '96. |
| 1993 | L.A. Clippers | Elmore Spencer | Out of League by '97. |
| 1994 | Indiana | Scott Haskin | Didn't last a season. |
| 1996 | Indiana | Travis Best | Solid back-up pg. Still active. |
| 1996 | Indiana | Fred Hoiberg | Benchwarmer under Brown, blossomed on mediocre Bulls squadunder Tim Floyd (go figure). |
| 1997 | Indiana | Erick Dampier | Traded after 1 season. |
| 1998 | Philadelphia | Tim Thomas | Traded midway through 2nd season. |
| 1999 | Philadelphia | Larry Hughes | Traded midway through 2nd season. |
| 2001 | Philadelphia | Speedy Claxton | Traded after 1 season. |
| 2002 | Philadelphia | Samuel Delambert | Played, but was below Derrick Coleman on Larry's depthchart. |
| 2004 | Detroit | Darko Milicic | ? |
posted by lilnemo at 05:39 PM on July 28, 2005
Darko Milicic...whats the story with this guy? Did he ever have a bright future? Were there other teams that wanted him in that draft? I don't get it. Darko is an enigma.
posted by curlyelk at 05:45 PM on July 28, 2005
Let him go and get a player you can use on the court and not to warm the bench.
posted by dbt302 at 06:58 PM on July 28, 2005
The human victory cigar should have an expiration date, and I would think he's close to it.
posted by rockin_the_suburbs at 10:54 PM on July 28, 2005
Joe Dumars pulled the trigger on the Milicic pick; I think Joe needs Darko to do SOMETHING (at least become tradeable) to save some face. It is, as it stands, the largest stain on what has been a successful tenure as GM, but its a pretty big one.
posted by markovitch at 11:05 PM on July 28, 2005
Maybe I've bought into the hype a little (or maybe not) - but I wouldn't write him off just yet. After all, he is but 20 years old and has such an NBA looking body that he may yet come into his own. Not that I'm projecting an All-Star here, but I don't think Darko is below contributing to a good team. Problem being, with the Wallaces - when does he even get a chance to play? And I will confess that he has yet to impress anyone even in the garbage minutes he's been getting.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:12 AM on July 29, 2005
Are you suggesting that Sanders will do more with DM than Brown? That's really the big question. With one enormous 7-foot exception, Saunders didn't really do a whole lot of developing young big men with the Wolves.
posted by cobra! at 09:23 AM on July 29, 2005
Darko's game lacks one thing...confidence. And he's not getting that on the bench. He needs minutes, and since Elden Campbell is likely gone, he might pick up 10-15 minutes a game alongside McDyess this season...
posted by MeatSaber at 10:01 AM on July 29, 2005
If Darko had been put on a team like the Bobcats where he'd have been getting lots of playing time I think we'd have a much better idea of what kind of player he is and can be. But he went to a team that really didn't need him, it would seem, so it's tough to say what kind of player he really is.
posted by gspm at 12:01 PM on July 29, 2005
He never should have went blonde...
posted by rockin_the_suburbs at 02:48 PM on July 29, 2005
lilnemo, it's funny (in a scary sense) how many of those traded players in your table came to the GSW and left, without ever have contributed much of anything good.
posted by billsaysthis at 03:28 PM on July 29, 2005
The GSW haven't had any continuity since Don Nelson left. They've gone through 6 coaches since Nellie left in '95. The longest tenured coaches? Rick Adelman and Eric Musselman with 2 "full seasons", PJ Carlesimo is edged out due to the lock-out/strike of '99. The highest single season win total since Nellie left? 38 games under Musselman.
posted by lilnemo at 05:42 PM on July 29, 2005
No doubt but they did have the ever so wonderful Gary St. Jean as GM for much of the time. IAC, I was just pointing out a not wonderful coincidence with your list.
posted by billsaysthis at 05:57 PM on July 29, 2005
Are you suggesting that Sanders will do more with DM than Brown? I'm not the closest follower of bball coaches but I thought bringing talent out of young players was one of Brown's strengths.