Darko HAS to stay

[teven_1]

as a minny fan I'm getting really concerned we draft a big man with our #4. Unless he's the 2nd coming of Wilt I say don't do it. We need to get Darko minutes, and it's already going to be heart wrenching choosing between Klove and Al jeff. Maybe Darko isn't that good but he had some really good games next season, lets give him a real chance and see what he does. We don't have much to lose considering we really need a swingman, 2guard anyway.

[re49gb_2gho32fp]

As an ethnic Serb i am a big fan of Darko and would to see him remaining in the nba, where Timberwolves seemed to be a good option up until the lottery.

Speaking of which, Serbia NT coach Dusan Ivkovic revealed the names of the preliminary 22-man WC squad in which Milicic was selected, to the surprise of Serbian basketball circles:

http://translate.google.com/translate?j ... l=sr&tl=en

[Devilzsidewalk]

As an ethnic Serb i am a big fan of Darko and would to see him remaining in the nba, where Timberwolves seemed to be a good option up until the lottery.

Speaking of which, Serbia NT coach Dusan Ivkovic revealed the names of the preliminary 22-man WC squad in which Milicic was selected, to the surprise of Serbian basketball circles:

http://translate.google.com/translate?j ... l=sr&tl=en

no Marko Jaric

[mefromthefuture]

I am not saying it was on him but he was part of the team for the last two months and the team went 2-30 so if he can be upgraded lets do.

[prefuse73]

just to warn you, this thread will probably get shut down soon. we have a crap load of darko topics all over our board.

I do want him to stay. However, he has not shown so much that we should avoid drafting Cousins at #4 if we think he has the best value at that position. T-wolves in general are not good enough to pass on BPA and draft for need. Good news is, if we decide to draft cousins, Darko would still get plenty of minutes as Cousins will barely be able to hold up for 24 minutes a game next year and Darko could lineup with Cousins.

My optimal 3 man big rotation I want is Darko / Favors / Love. Just fyi.

[Klomp]

just to warn you, this thread will probably get shut down soon. we have a crap load of darko topics all over our board.

There is just one other thread involving Darko on the first page. Hardly a crap load....unless you have issues.

[re49gb_2gho32fp]

As an ethnic Serb i am a big fan of Darko and would to see him remaining in the nba, where Timberwolves seemed to be a good option up until the lottery.

Speaking of which, Serbia NT coach Dusan Ivkovic revealed the names of the preliminary 22-man WC squad in which Milicic was selected, to the surprise of Serbian basketball circles:

http://translate.google.com/translate?j ... l=sr&tl=en

no Marko Jaric

That is a result of continuing the transition to a younger generation strategy (Krstic is oldest player on team). Another thing is Jaric's character which proved everything but optiomal on previous occasions during his time with NT.
Evaluating purely Jaric's playing abilities, He was one of the better players s upon joining Real Madrid last year. However that streak lasted merely a few weeks. Since 2003, Jaric has in my eyes never been anything more than a solid (role) player. Such a shame, with his frame and constitution for a guard it could have been a more prominent career.

[Dewey]

I am not saying it was on him but he was part of the team for the last two months and the team went 2-30 so if he can be upgraded lets do.

Yes, he's hardly in a position to sell anyone on his immediate impact ...

Again, I like Darko, but we need to get him for a fair price ($2 - $4 million). I cannot justify more $$ until we make progress in resolving some of our perimeter issues.

[Devilzsidewalk]

As an ethnic Serb i am a big fan of Darko and would to see him remaining in the nba, where Timberwolves seemed to be a good option up until the lottery.

Speaking of which, Serbia NT coach Dusan Ivkovic revealed the names of the preliminary 22-man WC squad in which Milicic was selected, to the surprise of Serbian basketball circles:

http://translate.google.com/translate?j ... l=sr&tl=en

no Marko Jaric

That is a result of continuing the transition to a younger generation strategy. Another thing is Jaric's character which proved everything but optiomal on previous occasions during his time with NT.
Evaluating purely Jaric's playing abilities, He was one of the better players s upon joining Real Madrid last year. However that streak lasted merely a few weeks. Since 2003, Jaric has in my eyes never been anything more than a solid (role) player. Such a shame, with his frame and constitution for a guard it could have been a more prominent career.

I can't remember how long ago, I think Eurobasket 2005, but remember it was when Radmanovic had his mullet haircut and they were rocking the Jaric/Rakocevic backcourt, that was officially when Serbia lost it's elite status because they had a bunch of NBA players on that team, but they had no chemistry at all. I remember Radmanovic was trying to throw down hammer dunks in traffic and clanking them off the rim and Jaric and Igor weren't getting along, it was a mess

[Darko Miliminutes]

Could not agree more with the thread title. This is a darn perfect situation for Darko to fulfill some of his potential. And if he does, then Wolves will have gotten a steal.

[Peezo]

I want Darko back, but I have no idea how the contract issue is going to play out. Everyone mentions not wanting to overpay him but what about the idea of being a starter? That was a part of the conversation previously and I'm not sure he deserves that kind of guarantee. I'm anxious to see what Kahn offers him and if he has to make any kind of guarantees about minutes.

[NO-KG-AI]

It's freaking Darko. He's whiny, a headcase, and has a deluded sense of his own value. I wouldn't even want this guy around my young team really. He doesn't have much upside left at this point, he is what he is, and it's only a matter of time before he blows up again.

I know you guys are worried about defense, but Darko is only a valuable defender because of his size and his length, his vertical has been shot since he put on weight.

Cousins is both bigger, and longer already, and his lane agility drill was magnificent(3rd in his class at C, the only guys higher were 230 pounds or so), it was 27th highest in Draft Express' entire list of Centers ever recorded, which goes back to the year 2000.

He's not a great leaper, but that's going to increase when he gets in an NBA weight room, he's never had to lift weights before in his life. Dwight Howard was the same coming from high school, put on 25 pounds, and was still able to add about 2" to his vertical leap. Cousins is going to trim down some, pack on some muscle, and he's going to go up over 30" vertical most likely.

Don't let Darko dictate your draft needs, this is stupid. I say draft Cousins, keep Darko, and see what kind of offers you can get for Love or Jefferson, and take the best value there, though personally, I'd keep Jefferson.

Even now with his baby fat still on him, Cousins profiles close to Brendan Haywood with his body type and athletic ability, an excellent defender, and also like Kendrick Perkins.

He'll figure out the defensive end if the coaches are willing to teach him.

[casey]

Darko should be a last resort if we don't make any significant changes this summer. If all other options are exhausted and we still has a couple million left and need a big, I'd be fine with him coming back. But you have to look at bringing good players to the team before thinking about retaining mediocre players.

[horaceworthy]

It's freaking Darko. He's whiny, a headcase, and has a deluded sense of his own value. I wouldn't even want this guy around my young team really. He doesn't have much upside left at this point, he is what he is, and it's only a matter of time before he blows up again.

I know you guys are worried about defense, but Darko is only a valuable defender because of his size and his length, his vertical has been shot since he put on weight.

There's still some upside left, and the downside is really only if they overpay him. The upside is that he's grown up and cuts some weight. His skill set fits well with the bigs that are here or could be here. It isn't just his defense, although he's long and has good feet, and his passing ability would work nice next to a guy like Cousins that has soft hands, good touch, and the bulk to establish position around the rim.

Don't let Darko dictate your draft needs, this is stupid. I say draft Cousins, keep Darko, and see what kind of offers you can get for Love or Jefferson, and take the best value there, though personally, I'd keep Jefferson.

That's my hope, as long as Darko's on a reasonably affordable deal. I'm not really concerned with which one of Jefferson or Love is kept, more with what the Wolves end up bringing in for them. Along with the Pekovic situation, it'll be interesting to see how the frontcourt situation ends up sorting out.

[re49gb_2gho32fp]

no Marko Jaric

That is a result of continuing the transition to a younger generation strategy. Another thing is Jaric's character which proved everything but optiomal on previous occasions during his time with NT.
Evaluating purely Jaric's playing abilities, He was one of the better players s upon joining Real Madrid last year. However that streak lasted merely a few weeks. Since 2003, Jaric has in my eyes never been anything more than a solid (role) player. Such a shame, with his frame and constitution for a guard it could have been a more prominent career.

I can't remember how long ago, I think Eurobasket 2005, but remember it was when Radmanovic had his mullet haircut and they were rocking the Jaric/Rakocevic backcourt, that was officially when Serbia lost it's elite status because they had a bunch of NBA players on that team, but they had no chemistry at all. I remember Radmanovic was trying to throw down hammer dunks in traffic and clanking them off the rim and Jaric and Igor weren't getting along, it was a mess

Off-topic
Your memory serves you well.
To add to the disaster, that Eurobasket was held in Serbia/Montenegro. Radmanovic has never been called to the NT after 2005 while Rakocevic was called last year but declined due to a disputed injury. This time Rakocevic pledged to be part of the NT, but was not included (i believe last year's "injury" had a part in this). Rakoc was Euroleague top-scorer 2009.
/Off

Someone in the thread mentioned that Darko is a headcase. Seems to me that Rambis were getting along fairly well with him. Perhaps Rambis has a different approach than Darko's previous coaches in terms of encouraging rather than criticizing. Also, i can safely claim that Darko being part of the NT this summer will do him good (unless he injures himself) perhaps most importantly because one of the most elite european coaches of all time will train him - mentally and game-wise - in Duda Ivkovic.
If Darko is to somewhat live up to his potential, then that project is likely to be launched this summer. Mark my words.

[shangrila]

If Darko wants to come back, so be it. But I agree there's no point in relying on a guy who hasn't done anything in the league and didn't do a whole lot for the team after he got here. Don't get me wrong I want him back, but I wouldn't go overboard to do it.

I like the idea of a Darko-Cousins frontcourt though.

[Darko Miliminutes]

It's freaking Darko. He's whiny, a headcase, and has a deluded sense of his own value. I wouldn't even want this guy around my young team really. He doesn't have much upside left at this point, he is what he is, and it's only a matter of time before he blows up again.

I know you guys are worried about defense, but Darko is only a valuable defender because of his size and his length, his vertical has been shot since he put on weight.

Cousins is both bigger, and longer already, and his lane agility drill was magnificent(3rd in his class at C, the only guys higher were 230 pounds or so), it was 27th highest in Draft Express' entire list of Centers ever recorded, which goes back to the year 2000.

He's not a great leaper, but that's going to increase when he gets in an NBA weight room, he's never had to lift weights before in his life. Dwight Howard was the same coming from high school, put on 25 pounds, and was still able to add about 2" to his vertical leap. Cousins is going to trim down some, pack on some muscle, and he's going to go up over 30" vertical most likely.

Don't let Darko dictate your draft needs, this is stupid. I say draft Cousins, keep Darko, and see what kind of offers you can get for Love or Jefferson, and take the best value there, though personally, I'd keep Jefferson.

Even now with his baby fat still on him, Cousins profiles close to Brendan Haywood with his body type and athletic ability, an excellent defender, and also like Kendrick Perkins.

He'll figure out the defensive end if the coaches are willing to teach him.

You're talking out your pooter.

The end of the season, Darko earned the respect of the coaches, his teammates, and anyone that watched him. Which you evidently did not.

Cousins played against shrimps in college, and when he faced decent front courts, he didn't do much at all. His size was a great advantage in college,but that advantage is gone come NBA time. He's far from a sure thing. It will take a couple years, at least, to be as productive as Milicic...if ever. He is a prospect, in no way an immediate impact type player. Their will be lots of fouling, and his conditioning will take a long time to improve. Since he will be playing against men now, and not undersized boys.

Darko is an asset to this team, and his NBA hours are very low. Which leaves time for improvement, and progression.

Go have a look at Darko's combine results from '03. You'll see better numbers than what Cousins has. His Lateral quickness was quicker than even most guards.

[Esohny]

We also have 7 seasons of data on Darko. He's proven to be a serviceable big. I don't see all this untapped upside.

[Darko Miliminutes]

We also have 7 seasons of data on Darko. He's proven to be a serviceable big. I don't see all this untapped upside.

Understood. I'm not saying that Darko should be expected to transition into some all-nba type, for sure.

But i do believe that he has room to improve. I am one of the very few people that believes that he will improve greatly. What you saw at the end of last year, IMO, is just the tip of the iceberg. With increased confidence and comfort, Darko will really start to pick it up...

[prefuse73]

The whole point is that Darko should not dictate our moves this summer and we should be conservative with his contract.

If Rambis Khan want to draft Cousins as BPA at #4, they should not even be thinking "but wait, how will darko fit in?". Like I said earlier, Darko, if he loses some weight and gaines some of his mobility back, could fit perfectly with Cousins and whoever is left between Love and Jefferson. This is not a Cousins OR Darko type situation.