A Dark(o) Theory For Detroit Piston Fans

It’s June 26th, 2003. If you’re a Detroit Pistons fan, or a Detroiter in general, you can’t help but feel accomplished.

Your team made a once in a lifetime deal six years ago, sending Otis Thorpe to the Vancouver Grizzlies for a future first round pick.

A pick that would eventually turn into the second overall selection in arguably the deepest draft in NBA history.

The 2003 draft featured one of the most hyped recruits of all time, LeBron James.

Slated to go first overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the “King” headed a very talented class.

An uber-talented shooting guard out of Marquette, Dwyane Wade; a one and done power forward out of Georgia Tech, Chris Bosh; a young National Championship winning small forward, Carmelo Anthony; and a 7'1" three-point-shooting center out of Serbia-Montenegro, Darko Milicic, filled out the rest of the top five selections.

The group consisted of four sure-fire picks and one project player.

The Pistons were in good enough shape to take a flyer on a developmental center who had the potential to be a bigger Dirk Nowitzki.

The ultimate risk-reward pick would go on to average under five minutes of playing time per game in his entire Detroit tenure. He will be forever labeled as one of the biggest draft busts in the history of the game. Although they won the NBA Championship the following season with their core players already intact, Darko Milicic would eventually lead the Pistons through a very long drought spanning his entire career and beyond.

Fast forward to July 8th, 2010, today’s date.

To this date, the four players drafted before and just after Milicic combine for one NBA Championship, two league MVP’s, four Olympic Gold Medals, twenty All Star selections and a litany of other honors.

To make matters worse, Milicic has turned into nothing more than a journeyman for teams hoping each has the ability to uncork the talent that seemingly never existed. With a fresh start (his fourth move since the Pistons dealt him to the Magic in 2006) in Minnesota, Milicic hangs in the background of the most expensive free agent class of all time.

A small sentence in what is to be a novel in the history of the National Basketball Association.

On this very day, a free agent signing frenzy occurred that would make a believer out of George Steinbrenner.

Three of the perennial All-Stars have joined forces in Miami to create a super team of sorts. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have shifted the NBA power beyond what even the Boston Celtics did a mere three years ago.

The timing was perfect.

Upon entering the league, all three signed contracts that would conclude at the exact same time. Out of the three, the only one to win an NBA Championship has been Wade, and he did so as a member of the Miami Heat.

Miami offers a great fanbase and beautiful weather year round. What better place to form an instant dynasty?

Bosh turned down LeBron’s invitation to dominate in Cleveland and in turn, forced James to pack his bags and head for the Magic City.

Which brings us to my theory. For each Barry Sanders, there is a Tony Mandarich.

For every Michael Jordan, a Sam Bowie.

The star players create dynasties and more often then not, the teams that succeed with them at the helm are the ones who drafted them.

Hindsight is 20/20, but never has a single draft selection resulted in such a difference of team history and an upwards of two decades and beyond will be the conclusion.

The Pistons select Dwyane Wade with the second overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft and the three headed monster that is now the Miami Heat would currently reside in Detroit.

It is thought that the catalyst for this entire situation, Chris Bosh, did not want to join LeBron in Cleveland because of the climate.

Although Bosh has not commented on this definitively, it should not be ruled out that Bosh and Wade are not only great friends, but they share the same agent.

So that’s it Detroit.

All the Championships, jersey sales, sold out arenas, and overall joy of a basketball dynasty fall by the wayside for years to come, all thanks to one single selection.

Darko Milicic could never foresee the effect he would have on his sport, or even have the power to turn it. Through no fault of his own, Milicic is responsible for the NBA’s version of the New York Yankees departure down south.

The championships and money that will follow in Miami could have been a financial boost to a city that’s in desperate need of its return to glory, but instead will fall on deaf ears in Detroit.