Celtics to sign Darko

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.boston.com/sports/blogs/thebuzz/2012/09/report_celtics_4.html


The Celtics will sign center Darko Milicic to a one-year contract for the veteran minimum, a league source tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

darkoreport.jpgMilicic was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, chosen ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade. He has famously failed to live up to those lofty expectations, averaging 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds over his career. The 7-footer averaged 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds for Minnesota last season.

Milicic becomes the 14th player under contract on the Celtics roster. He adds to the team's frontcourt depth, which is perhaps their biggest weakness. After Kevin Garnett and Brandon Bass, Chris Wilcox, rookie Jared Sullinger, veteran center Jason Collins, and Milicic should all compete for playing time. Wilcox looks like the surest thing of that group, though Milicic and Sullinger have the chance to play valuable minutes. Jeff Green could also slide into the power forward role in some rotations.

Milicic is just 27-years-old. His signing leaves one roster spot open for end-of-the-roster players with non-guaranteed contracts like Kris Joseph, Dionte Christmas, and Jamar Smith.

bob
Oh please, let this league source be wrong. Please, please, please...

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Bob, All evidence to the contrary, my gut tells me that Darko will be a late bloomer and flourish as a Celtic. As much as I really like Joseph, Christmas, and Smith, I do hope we shore up the front court with Milcic.

This would be a good signing for Boston.
An experienced back up center will be more valuable then a 6th guard would be if Christmas made the team.

I doubt Darko will be a late bloomer.
He has health/injury issues.

worcester wrote:Bob, All evidence to the contrary, my gut tells me that Darko will be a late bloomer and flourish as a Celtic. As much as I really like Joseph, Christmas, and Smith, I do hope we shore up the front court with Milcic.

worcester,

I'm torn. I've been bitching about our lack of depth at 5, I've accepted we're not going to get anybody good for the vet minimum (which is all we can offer) and now I'm appalled that it's Darko. It's too early to start drinking here in CA, but I'm counting the hours.

I suppose a small, flickering light here is that if the Darko Doc and Danny see in training camp is, well, Darko, he could be gone before the beginning of the season.

bob


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If he can give us 6 points and 6 rebounds in 10 mpg, that would qualify as a late bloomer in my book and be an asset for the Celts.

so---where does this leave the kids????? I am really torn here. I was looking for a real battle for spot 15. Now it is filled????

Bob, we have so little to lose by giving Darko a look, and who knows - if Doc could be the coach to inspire Darko to play to even 40% of his potential, then it could be helpful to us.

In 2010, Miličić offered to pay for a trip and treatment in China for five children with Batten disease.

This is a good sign about his character. A ray of hope.

worcester wrote:If he can give us 6 points and 6 rebounds in 10 mpg, that would qualify as a late bloomer in my book and be an asset for the Celts.

worcester,

He averaged 6 rebounds (6.1, to be exact) in only one season, 2007-2008. That's the good news. The bad news is that he did it in almost 24mpg.

In his last season, with Minny, he averaged 3.3rpg in 16.3mpg. You want 6 points in 10mpg? Last season he averaged 10.2ppg/36mpg. He averages 57.4% from the line for his career. He's 7'0" and shoots 46%.

I mean, for Pete's Sake, Minny cut Darko and threw a bucket of money at 90-day D-league wonder, Greg Stiemsma! What does that say?

KG famously headbutts the stanchion before starting the game. My prediction is that it won't take too long before he starts headbutting Darko. The reason for his confusion will be obvious, they're equally mobile.

I'm in a Starbucks now, so I can't let out a primal scream without the Sheriffs enjoying an early morning latte nearby leading me away.

bob

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I'm hoping with the right amount of fertilizer and rain he'll bloom.

I would actually take Darko, we could use another big, the guy I don't think we need is Dooling

worcester wrote:I'm hoping with the right amount of fertilizer and rain he'll bloom.

worcester,

The thought of Darko and fertilizer together is as completely congruent as it is also completely uninspiring.

I'm hoping you nail this one, buddy. I really do. I'm hoping your basketball mojo is in hyperdrive.

bob

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KG could provide the fertilizer, and Darko's subsequent tears could provide the rain. Still, I'm not holding my breath.

cowens/oldschool wrote:I would actually take Darko, we could use another big, the guy I don't think we need is Dooling

ow,

cow,

The best thing Dooling could do now is accept a job as an assistant coach for the backcourt, specifically the young'uns. Announce it after camp, though, make them sweat first.

bob

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Great line—"they're equally mobile."

I'm trying to see a positive side in this signing (if it happens), and it's not too difficult. I don't care how many players the Celtics have in camp. The more competition, the merrier. Moreover, I trust Doc ultimately to select the 15 who will give the Celtics the best chance to win a championship. I really want to see Christmas and Joseph make the team. But, if they don't I have confidence that it will be because Doc feels that whoever beat them out will be the best option(s) for the team.

Agreed about Dooling. As I've said before, making him a coach would retain his locker room value and keep him around for emergencies. With Melo, Collins, Darko and Wilcox all at training camp, I more than ever wish the Celtics had a big man coach like Dave Cowens or even Paul Silas.

Sam

In the long run this is not good. It leaves 1 roster spot open for 3 players that are legit NBA players. Joseph, Smith & Christmas possess NBA talent beyond riding the end of the bench. It would be a shame to lose two of them. I do not like the deal!

11288

sam wrote:Great line—"they're equally mobile."

I'm trying to see a positive side in this signing (if it happens), and it's not too difficult. I don't care how many players the Celtics have in camp. The more competition, the merrier. Moreover, I trust Doc ultimately to select the 15 who will give the Celtics the best chance to win a championship. I really want to see Christmas and Joseph make the team. But, if they don't I have confidence that it will be because Doc feels that whoever beat them out will be the best option(s) for the team.

Agreed about Dooling. As I've said before, making him a coach would retain his locker room value and keep him around for emergencies. With Melo, Collins, Darko and Wilcox all at training camp, I more than ever wish the Celtics had a big man coach like Dave Cowens or even Paul Silas.

Sam

sam,

Dave Cowens is a special assistant to Joe Dumars in Detroit. I believe Silas is available, now that he has been cut by the Bobcats.

Clifford Ray is currently a coach in Sacto.

How about Patrick Ewing? He was an assistant coach in Orlando, but now that SVG and Howard are gone and there's a new broom coming in, maybe he'd like to work here?

Pull out your batphone, sam, and call Danny.

bob

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Darko has a few things going for him...

He's not Mark Blount

He's not Michael Olowokandi

He's not Mikki Moore

Yet.

We'll see. We do need bigs.

Here's Chris Forsberg's Rapid Reaction to Darko:

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4697406/draft-do-not-publish


Little more than a week before the start of training camp, the Boston Celtics have added some depth to their frontcourt by reportedly reaching agreement with free agent center Darko Milicic on a one-year, veteran-minimum deal.

The 27-year-old Milicic, the second overall pick in the 2003 draft (sandwiched comfortably between All-Stars LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony), has played for five teams in nine NBA seasons. Last year, he averaged 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds over 16.3 minutes in 29 appearances for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

A handful of thoughts on what his addition means for the Celtics:

* The Celtics now have four legitimate 7-footers on their roster (yes, we're including 6-foot-13 Kevin Garnett in that mix). That gives the team some options off the bench behind Garnett, including defensive-minded Jason Collins and rookie first-round pick Fab Melo. It's likely that 6-foot-10 Chris Wilcox will be the top backup at the center position, but big bodies like Milicic give the team some depth against teams with more size.

* Surrounded by other talented defenders, Milicic won't be a liability. Two seasons ago when he appeared in 69 games for Minnesota, his Synergy Sports defensive numbers were solid (0.824 points per play) and he has an ability to block shots with his size. Offensively, he's more limited, but he did average 8.8 points per game during that 2009-10 season -- albeit in 24.4 minutes per game and it's unlikely he'll see large chunks of floor time in Boston.

* As a veteran-minimum signing, Milicic is a low-risk addition (he'll count for roughly $854,000 on the books with the league picking up the rest of his salary). The Celtics know all too well that you can't have too much size and Milicic provides insurance, particularly if Melo needs a year of development. When Milicic was originally amnestied by Minnesota this summer, the Celtics were reportedly interested, but appeared reluctant to offer anything more than a minimum deal. But with him shunning an overseas payday, Boston seems to have landed him at the right price with their patience.

* Milicic's addition does put a bit of a squeeze on the back end of the roster. Rookie second-round draft pick Kris Joseph and first-year guards Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith were already seemingly competing for two available spots. Unless Boston swallows hard on a veteran with a guaranteed deal, it makes the odds a little longer for the younger players. As we noted yesterday, Christmas' larger guarantee ($236,000), seemingly gives him an edge on Joseph (completely non-guaranteed) and Smith (only $25,000 guaranteed).

* Teams love reclamation projects. Despite Milicic's inability to live up to his draft hype, teams always believe they will be the one squeeze that talent out of the player. Yes, he's still young, but nine NBA seasons suggest he's nothing more than a depth center. Fortunately for Boston, that's all they really need and any ability to maximize his potential is a bonus in this signing. Let's remember that in each of the past two seasons, an unheralded big man has emerged as a decent contributor for the Celtics (Semih Erden, Greg Stiemsma). The Celtics don't want to have to lean on Milicic, but, again, you can't have too many big men in this league.


bob


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Doc has proven he will not go that deep into the bench anyway, so to me - having a 7 footer with NBA experience in case is a much more prudent signing than a rookie who will never sniff the court sitting down there.

Hi,
I don't know much about Milicic but the fact that Worster wants to put some fertilizer on him and Bobh almost got arrested (in the good ol' days they used concrete and nu nuttin' - so nuttin') I understand that he's not exactly an elite center, is he?
In this case I wonder if DA has plans to use him in a trade later on.
Also, despite very good impressions that Smith and Christmas gave us they might be expendable due to the fact that Celtics back-court is over crowded while the front-court is kind of thin. (I think KJ will stay as 3rd string SF).
And, of course, there could be the 3rd reason for this signing that we have no clue about.

And please, don't touch my homie Dooling: he is needed.

AK

Bob,

I know that Cowens was in that position. But I can't find any source that places him there this season. There was one source that said he's going community relations work for the Celtics. He certainly seems to be at a lot of the community affairs they organize.

I think I need more convincing that he's not available to the Celtics as a big man coach.

Wow, just looking at that picture of my wife is a real turn-on. I have to leave the board now.

Sam

Sam,

Great new avatar of the lovely Mrs. Sam.

Tell her we said hello!

Regards

bobheckler wrote:

sam wrote:Great line—"they're equally mobile."

I'm trying to see a positive side in this signing (if it happens), and it's not too difficult. I don't care how many players the Celtics have in camp. The more competition, the merrier. Moreover, I trust Doc ultimately to select the 15 who will give the Celtics the best chance to win a championship. I really want to see Christmas and Joseph make the team. But, if they don't I have confidence that it will be because Doc feels that whoever beat them out will be the best option(s) for the team.

Agreed about Dooling. As I've said before, making him a coach would retain his locker room value and keep him around for emergencies. With Melo, Collins, Darko and Wilcox all at training camp, I more than ever wish the Celtics had a big man coach like Dave Cowens or even Paul Silas.

Sam

sam,

Dave Cowens is a special assistant to Joe Dumars in Detroit. I believe Silas is available, now that he has been cut by the Bobcats.

Clifford Ray is currently a coach in Sacto.

How about Patrick Ewing? He was an assistant coach in Orlando, but now that SVG and Howard are gone and there's a new broom coming in, maybe he'd like to work here?

Pull out your batphone, sam, and call Danny.

bob

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I've met Patrick Ewing guy is so aloof and full of himself, reasons he still can't get a head coaching gig, everybody I know who has met him says/feels the same way.

Thanks, NYCelt. I've passed along her greetings.

I'll be going back to my Sam Jones avatar soon because, frankly, I find the current avatar a bit distracting.

Best to the family. We really missed seeing you this year, but it's great that you had such a good time.

Sam