4 years 20 million for Darko.

[zauchary]

Amir Johnson getting that kid of money is laughable.

Why is it so hard to for people to realize Darko is one of the few Centers that can guard the Howards and Gasols of the league with some degree of success. That alone should net 5 mil a year.

[abjsuperstar]

sign somebody out of the organization whos some what decent would be a mind shocker

[LOBO 7]

I think this video shows a pretty good summary of Darko's value:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvehg4NeUn4

February 21, 2010. Darko's first game with the Wolves. His first time on the court since he played 5 minutes for the Knicks on November 13, 2009.

The video seems pretty ho-hum at first glance, the Wolves getting handled pretty well by the Thunder, Darko not doing anything spectacular. After being down double digits most of the game, the Pups chip away at the lead early in the 4th.

At the 4 minute mark of the video, Darko makes a nice backdoor pass to Wilkins for a dunk, Wolves pull within 2 points with 10:30 left in the 4th. Timeout OKC.

4:26 mark of the video. Darko gets an offensive rebound (not sure if it leads to second chance points)
4:30 mark of the video. Darko with a nice contest on a jumper, followed by a nice rebound. Wolves down 86-84 with 9:14 left in the game.
Ensuing possesion. Darko with a nice jump hook in the lane. Tie game, 9 minutes left in the game.
4:52 mark of video. Darko sits down, Wolves down 89-88 with 7:37 left in the game.
5 minute mark of the video. Darko checks back in, Wolves down 97-88 with 3:54 left. 8-0 OKC run wile Darko sat.
5:07 mark of the video. Darko blocks a Jeff Green layup, leads directly to a Love outlet to Wilkins for a layup on the other end, Wolves down 97-93 with 3:14 to play.
5:18 mark of the video. Darko with a nice contest and rebound. Wolves still within 4.
5:28 mark of the video. Darko layup pulls the Wolves within 101-97 with 1:07 left. Then the video ends.

Looking at the boxscore:

http://www.nba.com/games/20100221/OKCMI ... GIboxscore

Wolves lose 109-107. Darko with 8 pts 8 rebs 2 assists and a block in 19 minutes. Wolves lose by 2, Darko is a +35 in his 19 minutes on the floor. (Love was +24, Al was -37)

Anyways, it's just one game, but it shows the type of impact Darko can have on a game without putting up sexy numbers. If he can consistently influence the game in these ways, he will be a bargain. He won't have to be a +35 every night, or average 15 and 10, he'll just have to keep playing the right way and doing the little things. I for one think he will come back next year with a chip on his shoulder and will be in good shape, and will prove a lot of doubters wrong.

[chuckerz]

Darko will pull a Donny Darko and drop an airplane on all his critics.

[JMillott]

I think this was a fairly good deal for both sides with Darko risking being under paid more so then the Wolves have to worry about being stuck with him. Hell if it doesn't work out Darko may very well seek a buyout to return to Europe as this was seemingly the only NBA franchise he was willing to sign with.

[Macho]

This is a steal for the Wolves when you look at what Gooden and Johnson got.

Darko can be Minnesota's Vlade Divac.

[southern wolf]

I'm not overly happy with the deal. But to say it's the worst of the FA period so far is unbelievable. Amir Johnson? Gooden?

[urinesane]

So how exactly is Darko a rip off for us? Seems like we got a great deal on both Darko and Pekovic.

Because people who don't actually watch Darko play, form their opinions off of him being the #2 pick and never panning out anywhere. If they actually new the game and watched him play, they would see we got a great deal.

[Foye]

LOL at all these guys getting 5 years. Teams are screwing themselves with long, expensive contracts before the new CBA.

[St.Nick]

Good signing.

[cpfsf]

I like how there isn't a lot of wear and tear on his body. He was practically never used in Detroit or New York. Sure his game suffered a little bit because he didn't play a game in months, but next season he should be in much better shape.

[Jackattaq]

I like how there isn't a lot of wear and tear on his body. He was practically never used in Detroit or New York. Sure his game suffered a little bit because he didn't play a game in months, but next season he should be in much better shape.

He was sucking major wind in just about every game with the T-Wolve last year, if he comes back in better shape this year, he should be able to go 30-32 minutes per game and be more productive.

[shrink]

I don't have a problem with this contract.

In the NBA, you have always had to pay for bigs. I am happy the fourth year is partially-guaranteed, because Darko is still a question mark, so the contract length could be an issue. MIN needed to sign Darko right away to remove his massive cap hold. When you look at the deals that guys like Drew Gooden and Amir Johnson are getting right now, Darko doesn't look so bad. I think there is still more optimism than reality in our projections, but even if he's a decent back-up center, this contract doesn't look too outrageous. And there's no denying that there is still the chance for upside.

[tviper]

I love how Hollinger on Thursday criticizes the Darko signing, and then on Friday praises certain GMs for locking up players early because there is so much $ available. He mentions giving Amir Johnson $34M and Drew Gooden $32M might be just fine, and even smart in this market, but giving Darko much less than that is stupid. Okay.

Perhaps a little perspective is in order. Take a look around the league at the big men who make $5M+ per: Zaza Pachulia, Nazr Mohammed, DeSagana Diop, Jeff Foster, just to name a few. Darko has more upside and potential than all of them.

I am sick of the Kahn bashing for no other reason that it appears trendy to do so. Please look at the facts first. And someone tell Simmons that the "Kahn is a drooling idiot" meme is tired and boring.

[p0peye]

I like how there isn't a lot of wear and tear on his body. He was practically never used in Detroit or New York. Sure his game suffered a little bit because he didn't play a game in months, but next season he should be in much better shape.

He was sucking major wind in just about every game with the T-Wolve last year, if he comes back in better shape this year, he should be able to go 30-32 minutes per game and be more productive.

Still on Darko bandwagon, Jackattaq? After all these years of pain and suffer?

[Foye]

The two questions I always have to ask when I see a deal like this are: (1) Who were they bidding against, and (2) What’s a reasonable expectation for this player going forward.

The answer to the first query is nobody. Nobody else in the NBA wanted Milicic at anything close to that price, and his threat to return to Europe was just that if money was going to be any kind of factor. In all likelihood, Minnesota could have comfortably won the bidding for Darko’s services at a fraction of the price.

The answer to the second is shown by his statistical performance — even last season he was a subpar offensive performer, while defensively he was decent but nothing special. (Unless, that is, you had been watching Al Jefferson all season.) He’s a backup center, basically, and backup centers aren’t supposed to make this kind of bank — especially when their attitude and motivation have been questioned at every stop in a seven-year career.

It's painful to read John Hollinger. Love how he completely ignores the fact that Milicic would've gotten solid money in Europe and that even backup C's get a ton of money. Hell even Diop and Gortat got a lot more than Darko, who is only 24.

[Saltine]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolve ... 97214.html

Darko's agent, Marc Cornstein, called his client "extremely excited this is in place."

"Darko wanted to be there," Cornstein said. "He felt like this is home from the moment he got there. Kurt Rambis has been fantastic for him. He's resurrected his career. He has genuine belief in Darko as a player and a person."

Five months ago, Milicic's NBA career looked like a complete bust after seven seasons. The second overall pick in the 2003 draft, he planned on heading home for good after the season, or whenever he could get free from the New York Knicks, which happened when they traded him to the Wolves at the trading deadline for Brian Cardinal's expiring contract.

"If you had told me in the middle of February, we'd be at this stage July 1st, well, it's really remarkable," Cornstein said. "I've said for a long time that the team that showed belief in Darko will be rewarded enormously. They stepped up and proved it with action."

The Wolves did so by moving Milicic into the starting lineup for 18 of the 24 games he played for them.

They did so in June when Rambis and David Kahn traveled to Milicic's home in Serbia while they were on a European scouting trip that led to Pekovic joining the team for next season.

"What happened in Serbia was a reaffirmation how important he was to them," Cornstein said. "To have the GM and head coach travel to his home, which is not exactly around the corner from Minneapolis, and share a meal, that spoke volumes."

Milicic freely admitted he was not in shape for those 24 games he played, not after he hadn't played for three months for the Knicks.

"He'll show up in great shape," Cornstein said. "Now he has something to prove, which he is anxious to do. Now we have this behind us. They wanted him back and he wanted to be here. We both realized this is something we should do sooner rather than later. They were fair and generous and we tried to be fair and generous."

[Jackattaq]

I like how there isn't a lot of wear and tear on his body. He was practically never used in Detroit or New York. Sure his game suffered a little bit because he didn't play a game in months, but next season he should be in much better shape.

He was sucking major wind in just about every game with the T-Wolve last year, if he comes back in better shape this year, he should be able to go 30-32 minutes per game and be more productive.

Still on Darko bandwagon, Jackattaq? After all these years of pain and suffer?

It's a bumpy and painful ride, but I'm in for the long haul.

[Grits n Gravy]

So how exactly is Darko a rip off for us? Seems like we got a great deal on both Darko and Pekovic.

Because people who don't actually watch Darko play, form their opinions off of him being the #2 pick and never panning out anywhere. If they actually new the game and watched him play, they would see we got a great deal.

EXACTLY, it is impossible for people(especially the media) to look at darko objectively....if he was a 15th or 20th pick and they had seen him play then there would be praise rather than hate.

[Macho]

Exactly, if let's say Marcin Gortat got this same contract these guys would be calling it an amazing deal even though Darko is a better player than Gortat will ever be.