http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/4614 Recent articles about Darko Milicic en-us just thoughts on an incoming 7 footer with skills, but just another timid white guy Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:34:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290201 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290201 The NBA draft is just days away and undoubtedly, someone will make a franchise crippling decision, like drafting the next Kobe Bryant and trading him for an over-the-hill center, or passing on the next Dwayne Wade in favor of the European mystery bag that is Darko Milicic. Only time will tell how good (or not so good) this class will be, but for now, let's take a look at some blunders of the past. 10. Jonathan Bender, Toronto Raptors/Indiana Pacers Perhaps 13 teams missing on Kobe Bryant three years earlier played a role in this 1999 selection, but Bender was undoubtedly a mistake. Selected fifth overall by the Raptors and promptly dealt to the Pacers, Bender was selected in front of talents like Shawn Marion, Richard Hamilton, and Corey Maggette. 9. Ed O'Bannon, New Jersey Nets One could argue that Joe Smith was a bad pick at number one overall, considering the talent in the 1995 draft class. I would argue that 13 years later, he's still in the league. By 1997, Ed O'Bannon wasn't. Not good for a top ten pick. Michael Finley or Brent Barry would have been more serviceable picks. 8. Shawn Bradley, Philadelphia 76ers It's tough to call a guy who lasted 12 years a bust. At 7'5", Bradley was supposed to be a giant who could run the floor. Unfortunately he was just a giant. Despite his lack of athleticism, size can help a whole lot in the NBA, and he sure had that. However, the Sixers probably wish they would have sent the card in with Penny Hardaway or Jamal Mashburn's name instead. 7. Kwame Brown, Washington Wizards In 2001, the Wizards were looking to start over and Kwame Brown was to be the face of the franchise. Sadly, it was an ugly, ugly face. Averaging 7.5 points and 5.7 boards a game for a career, Brown was a huge bust. It's astonishing that the Wizards were able to deal him to Los Angeles for Caron Butler, who went on to play make back to back All-Star appearances in 2007 and 2008. 6. Michael Olowokandi, Los Angeles Clippers The Clippers tend not to draft well. With a pretty good 1998 draft class, they really shouldn't have bombed, but boy did they… The "Kandi Man" was selected first overall, in front of Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and Mike Bibby. 5. Rick Robey, Indiana Pacers How does one average less than 15 points and 8 rebounds a game in college and still get drafted in the top three? It's still a mystery thirty years later, but in 1978, the Pacers made Robey a top three selection. In hindsight, they probably shouldn't have let a hometown kid from Indiana State fall to the Celtics at pick six. Larry Bird probably would have been a better selection. 4. Dennis Hopson, New Jersey Nets Hopson was picked third in the 1987 draft and actually went on to have a decent career. But it wasn't the career of a Scottie Pippen, Kevin Johnson or Reggie Miller – all picked after him. 3. Darko Milicic, Detroit Pistons You knew he was coming. The 2003 draft was among the best in history, and certainly in recent memory. But pick number two was not one of the next big stars in the NBA. Darko was selected in front of Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, David West and Josh Howard, among others. 2. LaRue Martin, Portland Trail Blazers If you're the number one pick in the draft, you should really stay in the league longer than four seasons. You should probably average more than 5 points a game. It could be argued that Bob McAdoo (picked second) or Julius Erving (picked twelfth) would have been better picks in 1972. Perhaps… 1. Sam Bowie, Portland Trail Blazers Taken number two overall in 1984 by the Blazers, Bowie had an okay career. But what makes a bad pick a bad pick in the NBA isn't necessarily how good or bad you were, but how good or bad everyone around you in that draft was. And in the Blazers defense, they already had Clyde Drexler, so the pick made sense at the time. Unfortunately for Sam Bowie, and the Blazers, the team passed on guys like Charles Barkley, John Stockton, and some guy who used to wear 23 in Chicago. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:27:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281819 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281819 The Chicago Bulls obviously got lucky claiming the #1 pick in the upcoming draft, but one would have to think the Heat will get a pretty good player at #2 as well. Right? Recent history says otherwise. In the drafts after 1995, only one 2nd overall pick in the NBA Draft has made it to an All-Star game (Steve Francis). In that time, 7 #1 picks have made the All-Star game, as have 5 #3's, 4 #4's, and 3 #5's. One would expect the #1's to be the best and in general they have been, including Dwight Howard, Lebron, Yao, AI, and Tim Duncan. But by draft order, the 2nd picks should be better than the 3rd or 4th. Consider these All-Stars drafted at either 3rd or 4th from 1996-2005: Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Pau Gasol, Chauncey Billups, Antawn Jamison, Baron Davis and Stephon Marbury. This is not to say that all the 2nd picks have been complete busts, but the star power has not been there. Will anyone ever be able to explain the choice of Darko Milicic at #2 when Carmelo, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade were still on the board?? The NFL has actually exhibited a very similar trend. Of the draft classes from 1996-2005, the only 2nd picks that became one of the best at their position are Donovan McNabb and Julius Peppers. A few others had decent careers like Kevin Hardy and Lavar Arrington, and others may yet, like Ronnie Brown. However, look at the success of the #1 picks: Keyshawn, Orlando Pace, Peyton, Mike Vick, Carson Palmer, and Eli Manning. What's worse is considering the players who were ranked highly but passed on at #2: Jonathan Ogden (4th, 1996), Shawn Springs (3rd, 1997), Charles Woodson (4th, 1998), and LaDainan Tomlinson (5th, 2001), to name a few. The 3rd picks from the last three drafts have all made the Pro Bowl already, while not a single 2nd pick has (including Reggie Bush). The 2004 class is a perfect example, where Robert Gallery was taken 2nd, between Eli, Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers, and Sean Taylor. Maybe we should name the 2nd pick The Ryan Leaf Selection, because that's how it always seems to turn out. So is there any explanation for this insanity? The #2 pick seems to be littered with college stars whose game didn't work out as well at the pro level. Examples include Keith van Horn, Marcus Camby, Jay Williams, Emeka Okafor, and Marvin Williams. The teams wanted a safer pick where the player had already demonstrated a lot of talent. Other failed picks were young guys that didn't develop to their full potential, like Stromile Swift and Tyson Chandler. Maybe the media hype built some of these guys up too much. It's hard to blame the team strategies because over such a long period, many different strategies should have been tried, along with a variety of team needs and draft availability. So the Heat will have their choice of (most likely) two of Beasley, Rose, and Mayo. Will they manage to find a bust in that group? Will they take a shot on this year's Darko? Or maybe they'll buck the trend and find the next MJ. Time will tell, but history's not on their side. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:09:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281568 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281568 Was Darko the worst pick ever? Mon, 05 May 2008 14:48:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/263655 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/263655 When it comes down to the best center in the NBA, there's no question that Dwight Howard is #1, with Yao Ming finishing second. Howard's averaging a 22 PPG and 18.2 RPG and 3.8 BPG in the playoffs, numbers that haven't been seen since Wilt Chamberlain. The other 4 positions will be posted over the week. Player (Current Team/Former Team) PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, BPG * = Best in Category (R) = Rookie Blocks 1.5+ Shown Blocks and Steals Shown if both are 1+ 1. Dwight Howard (ORL) 20.7, 14.2*, 1.3, 2.2 BPG 59.9% FG 2. Yao Ming (HOU) 22*, 10.8, 2.3, 2 BPG 3. Pau Gasol (LAL/MEM) 18.9, 8.4, 3.2, 1, 1.5, 58.9% FG (LAL) 4. Al Jefferson (MIN) 21, 11.1, 1.4, 1.5 BPG 5. Chris Kaman (LAC) 15.7, 12.7, 1.9, 2.8 BPG 6. Marcus Camby (DEN) 9.1, 13.1, 3.3, 1.1 , 3.6* 7. Andrew Bogut (MIL) 14.3, 9.8, 2.6, 1.7 BPG 8. Andrew Bynum 13.1, 10.2, 1.7, 2.1 BPG, 63.6% FG (35 games) 9. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (CLE) 14.1, 9.3, 1.4, 1.6 BPG 10. Tyson Chandler (NOH) 11.8, 11.7, 0.2 11. Samuel Dalembert (PHI) 10.5, 10.4, 0.5, 2.3 BPG 12. Brad Miller (SAC) 13.4, 9.5, 3.7*, 1, 1 13. Shaquille O'Neal (PHX/MIA) 13.6, 9.1, 1.7, 59.3% FG (Season) 14. Andris Biedrins (GSW) 10.5, 9.8, 1 15. (R) Al Horford (ATL) 10.2, 9.6, 1.5 16. Rasheed Wallace (DET) 12.7, 6.6, 1.8, 1.2, 1.7 17. Mehmet Okur (UTA) 14.5, 7.7, 2 18. Brendan Haywood (WAS) 10.6, 7.2, 0.9, 1.7 BPG 19. Troy Murphy (IND) 12.2, 7.2, 2.2 20. Kendrick Perkins (BOS) 7, 6.1, 1.1, 1.5 BPG, 61.6% FG* (Season) 21. Eddy Curry (NYK) 13.7, 4.2, 0.5 22. Josh Boone (NJN) 8.2, 7.3, 0.8 23. Andrea Bargnani (TOR) 10.2, 3.7, 1.1 24. Nazr Mohammed (CHA/DET) 7.6, 6, 0.9, 61.7% FG (CHA) 25. Darko Milicic (MEM) 7.2, 6.1, 0.8, 1.6 BPG 26. Erick Dampier (DAL) 6.1, 7.5, 0.9, 1.5 BPG 27. Joel Przybilla (POR) 4.8, 8.4, 0.4 28. (R) Joakim Noah (CHI) 6.1, 5.6, 1.1 29. Fabricio Oberto (SAS) 4.6, 5.2, 1.2, 60.8% FG 30. Mark Blount (MIA/MIN) 8.4, 3.8, 0.6 31. Johan Petro (SEA) 6, 5.1, 0.4 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:15:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261765 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261765 Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Greg Oden dominated in a pickup game at 24 hour fitness in Tualatin the other day, where he finished with 8-10 dunks and tons of blocked shots. Pick him up for your team if he comes to a gym near you. Sat, 29 Mar 2008 07:13:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/223134 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/223134 Dishonorable Mentions: Can we all agree that Darko Milicic (1.0) should never be on any fantasy team ever again? I don't care if you're playing in a league with 30 teams and need to slot in Raef LaFrentz as your backup center. Please, for the good of humanity, never pick up Darko ever again. Ever. Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:03:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/217722 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/217722 JEFF GREEN I've actually been waiting for this rookie to get some more minutes and onto this list. Well, tonight is the night. Green had 23 points on 7-13 from the field and 7-8 from the line with 2 threes, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and even chipped in a block. Best part of all, he had only 1 turnover. With Chris Wilcox injured, he will get some starts and so look for the rookie tandem of Durant and Green to take over. Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:57:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/215388 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/215388 If each night one had the time, energy and will to look through every NBA stat line, one might be very successful at fantasy basketball. One would be able to pick up emerging studs, drop eventual duds and monitor those ify suds. Unfortunately, a manager rarely has the time to do this, but here at Fantasy Basketball Pros we care about you, so we look through all the lines and tell you in summary form what you really need to know. Here are the most telling fantasy lines from Wednesday. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:53:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/196549 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/196549 Darko Milicic must forget he's got no cred. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:16:21 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/174696 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/174696 Just as the dust settled on a couple of blockbuster deals last week, we may have another one on our hands if the Nets and Mavericks can sort out Devean George's contract in a deal that would send Jason Kidd back to Dallas. The next week that leads up to the trading deadline appears to not only be attention-grabbing, but it could have a major shake up in your fantasy league as well. It is important to remember when analyzing a deal to not only look at the players involved in the trade, but also who is going to fill the void of the player traded away. An example is in Memphis with the much criticized, and rightfully so, deal with the Lakers. Pau Gasol landed in Los Angeles, however, who is going to pick up the slack that he left behind with the Grizzlies? We will examine that question as well as look at some other players worth noting in this week's Stock Watch. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:02:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/141007 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/141007 In this weekly column, we highlight players whose values have risen or fallen over the past 7 days offering fantasy basketball managers insight into the best options at each position. Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:14:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/133356 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/133356 The fantasy basketball world is abuzz over the two huge trades made in the last week. The Lakers snatched Pau Gasol for a song on Friday, and Miami got Shawn Marion for only a few verses and a bridge on Wednesday. What is going on here? We've dispatched our investigative reporters deep into the darkest corridors of the Memphis and Phoenix front offices, only to discover just now, to our dismay, that we don't actually have any investigative reporters. Since we are on a deadline here, and it is after all only the internet, we'll stick to what we know: rampant speculation. Perhaps I can use fancy verbiage and the insertion of a few links to give y'all the appearance that we are a reputable news weblog... nah. It's not like we're covering the presidential primaries. Let's just examine the trades from a fantasy perspective. Fri, 08 Feb 2008 01:31:04 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/130383 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/130383 The biggest news of the night came out of South Florida when discussions of a trade between the Suns and Heat leaked to a South Florida newspaper concerning Shaquille O'Neal and Shawn Marion. This is an interesting move to consider for the Suns, however, to me it doesn't make any sense. The Suns are a run and gun-type team. Adding a big man like Shaquille would be placing a square peg in a round hole. Amare Stoudemire is an ideal center for the Suns thanks to his run and gun offense, plus his recent development as a shot-blocker in the half court. Of course, the Suns may be waving the white flag, acknowledging that they can't win a title with their current high tempo style of play. Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:53:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/128355 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/128355 Outside of the Lakers, it's looking like the real winners in the Pau Gasol trade are Darko Milicic owners. Since he has come into the league, Darko has never really had a chance to shine. He was stuck on the bench as the "human victory cigar" in Detroit and relegated to a second fiddle to Dwight Howard role in Orlando. But now that Pau is gone in Memphis, Mr. Milicic finally has a chance to be the man. It's a small sample size, but thus far, he has looked very promising since assuming the starting center job. He's been a double-double machine over the last week, with games of 14points 16 rebounds, 12-12 and 11-12 all while also racking up a few assists and 9 blocks. If he can continue on a pace anything like that, he'll be a very valuable part of any fantasy team. Keep an eye out on him and possibly try to buy while his stock still may be low. Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:47:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/128345 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/128345