Thoughts

It is with a heavy heart that I bid farewell to Darko Milicic today. His trade to the Orlando Magic has been completed. The deal sends Darko and Piston's backup point-guard Carlos Arroyo to Orlando for (injured) center Kelvin Cato and a first round draft pick.

The details of the draft pick are that Detroit gets Orlando's first round pick in 2007, unless Orlando has a top 5 pick whereby they keep it and Detroit gets their first round pick in 2008 regardless of position.

The article from Sportsline does the perfect job of putting Darko's tenure in Detroit into perspective:

...Milicic's future in Detroit came down to this: The Pistons' environment couldn't handle developing a project for the future while using its lineup of all-stars for championships today.

I wish him well in Orlando. I am a Darko fan, and hate to see him go, but in that system compared to the system in Detroit he will be able to see more court time.

And while Milicic could have forced a change in that environment, had his play or his attitude risen above that obstacle, he didn't.

I think attitude was the biggest problem. When Darko would get into a game early, say in the second quarter, he would play very respectably. He also had a strong summer before this season began. In the summer league he saw decent minutes and was able to establish his on court identity. It was when he had the garbage minutes at the end of a blowout victory that he would play without confidence. I cannot blame him for wanting more playing time, but I cannot condone the lack of effort on the court in the final minute(s).

Reports have often stated that the chance to play under Pistons' new coach Flip Saunders was Darko's to lose. All he had to do was work hard and show Flip that he had the desire to learn and contribute. I have no intimate knowledge of the goings-on behind the scenes of this team. I cannot say whether that happened or not or if that was why Darko never played or not. But that inference can be made. This should be a lesson he has learned and he will be better prepared for his move to Orlando.

In the end, I do believe this trade to the in Darko's best interest, though I will no longer be able to see him in Detroit's red, white and blue.

Best of luck to Darko Milicic in Orlando.