Darko Millicic To Get First Real Chance with Minnesota Timberwolves

Darko Milicic came into the league as an 18-year-old (actually drafted when he was 17) and was drafted second overall by the Detroit Pistons.

From there onward, Milicic, for a variety of reasons, found himself playing backup to somebody.  Whether it was Ben Wallace in Detroit or Pau Gasol in Memphis, Milicic never really had a long enough run to become “the guy” for an NBA team.

Darko finally has that chance with the Minnesota Timberwolves.  When Milicic was first acquired by the team, he was reluctant to join.  And who could really blame him?  For as long as he had been put on the bench in New York, all he wanted was to see out the end of his contract and return to Europe, where he could get back to just playing the game and earning a handsome salary.

Then the Wolves came along and convinced him to give Minnesota a go.  Why not?  With just a few months left on his contract, it was a perfect situation for both Darko and the Wolves. 

The Wolves got to basically audition a center who has long been seen as having untapped potential (and 7’1” can’t be taught), and Darko got to finally get back on the floor.  For a center looking to attach himself to a team in the Euro league, getting his playing legs back underneath him was probably a top priority.

I doubt either Darko or the Wolves expected the Serbian big man to show talent in the complex triangle system the way he did in the last 30 games of the 2009-10 season. 

Darko showed in his audition that he could play well as a defensive center and be the low-post banger that coach Kurt Rambis wanted in his system.  Keep in mind this is a very complex system to learn, and to have shown promise in it after only 30 games isn’t something to be ignored.

A self-admittedly unfit Milicic managed to provide enough defensive presence in the paint to help calm a Wolves defense that was in sore need of a big, space filling center.  Up until that point, Al Jefferson, undersized slightly for even a power forward, was the team’s starting center. 

Against teams like the LA Lakers who boast a pair of great 7-footers in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, Jefferson would have difficulty shutting down the interior play.  Milicic was able to considerably improve the Wolves defense in that area, allowing Jefferson to return to his natural power forward spot.

As has been reported by just about every sports media outlet, the Wolves re-signed Darko to a four-year, $20 million deal this offseason, firmly establishing him as the team’s starting center.  He will be backed up by new import Nikola Pekovic (the contract will reportedly be announced in the next week) and Ryan Hollins, the oldest player currently on the Timberwolves roster.

Milicic held an informal media session on Friday with the various reporters covering the squad, and he had some very interesting things to say.  Some of the more important things surround what he said about Kahn and Rambis.  He said that their visit to him in Europe truly cemented his desire to come back to Minnesota. 

Darko is a player who has had his second overall selection hanging over his head for all of his seven seasons in the league.  The 2010-11 season with the Timberwolves will mark the first time that an organization has actually trusted Milicic on the court. 

Additionally, much less pressure will be on Darko in Minnesota than it was in his other stops, most notably Detroit.  The Wolves aren’t expecting Darko to put up numbers similar to, say, the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard.  What I would be expecting, were I in the front office’s shoes, is to see Darko playing well within the system, probably posting around 10 points a game and pulling down between eight and 10 rebounds. 

Darko won’t need to be a big offensive producer.  He’ll have Kevin Love around him to help with point production—Love can expect to start this season and probably will look to be a 20-10 player for the Wolves. 

The other forward spot will be held down by either Michael Beasley or draft pick Wesley Johnson.  Beasley boasts a good mid-range jump shot and has the ability to knock down the three ball, while Johnson is a pure shooter with a huge wingspan, a nice bonus on the defensive end of the court. 

Darko will have the player set around him so that he won’t have to feel he has to “be the guy.”  For a center who, prior to now, has professed to not playing with much confidence, this will be a major plus.

The Wolves also want to see a strong defensive presence from Darko.  Kurt Rambis will rely on Milicic to do two things: bang in the low post and plug the lane when the league’s fast, slashing guards drive to the hoop. 

Milicic has a very large body, weighing 275 lbs., and the Wolves staff will be working to ensure that Darko uses that entire bulk to help him gain leverage on the league’s big centers, something that the Wolves had difficulty doing last season. 

As far as stopping the dribble-drive goes, Darko certainly won’t be expected to run and keep up with a point guard.  But most guards in the league will think twice about running into a human being to gives a strong resemblance to a tree when he stands in the lane.  If Darko can average one or two blocks per game, that will do a great service for the club.

In short, Darko is finally getting the chance that he was always supposed to have, but never really got.  He will be the starting center this season, hands down, but he will have a significantly smaller amount of pressure put on his huge shoulders than with other squads. 

He has the support of the team’s entire staff (including new assistant GM Tony Ronzone, the man who first scouted Darko for the Pistons) and has what amounts to an entirely clean slate here in Minnesota.  That’s a great place to reignite a career that still has plenty of potential.

On a side note, another thing that Darko talked about in his mini-presser was how beneficial he feels the team going to Europe for the preseason will be.  I have to agree with him there.

The Wolves will be playing preseason games in London and in Paris, and for a team that has so many new parts, the chance to share an incredible experience together (travel to Europe first class is absolutely that) will undoubtedly help the team gel together. 

Being able to practice away from the vast majority of the US media’s scrutiny will give the team a chance to grow and create an identity as a working unit, and as Darko has testified, that could be a great help to the team.

Milicic talked about how teams in Europe have much more of a community feeling than teams in the NBA do.  His European squads of course worked together, but their families all were well acquainted and the team became its own support network. 

In the US, and this may have had something to do with Darko’s self-described lack of “mental fitness,” there is much less warmth within a team setup.  The Wolves have the chance to create this kind of bond while overseas, and who knows?  It may just help them a little bit once they return to Target Center.