Jermaine O’Neal on Darko

[GreatLakeState]

From Hoopshype.com

Question: Darko Milicic is having a very similar first few years in the
league as you did. He's not playing much, like you in Portland, and yet he
was picked from a very high place in the draft. Is it only the change of
environment that helped you show your true colors and become one of
the premiere NBA players?

Jermaine O'Neal: Opportunity and the right situation are everything in the
NBA. I'm sure that if he keeps on doing what he's doing right now and if
somebody takes a chance on him, even if it's not Detroit, as it was the
case with me and Indiana. He just needs to keep getting better, keep
working on his game, stay positive and believe in yourself more than
anything else. Because everybody's going to have an opinion about you.
You know, sometimes I wonder what makes an analyst an analyst...you
can't analyze a person's heart and a person's will. So my message to
Darko will be: just keep on doing what got you here and keep getting
better and that's it. You know, there's a reason why they took you as No.
2 in the draft.

Every situation isn't good for you. I don't think that Detroit is a good fit
for Darko. Hopefully, he will come to the situation like in Sacramento, on
a team that goes up and down. He seems to have a nice touch with his
jump shot and the ability to get up and down the floor. So, when his
contract comes up, my advice for him is to go out and find the team that
his game is well suited for and I think that he is going to really have a
great chance if he keeps working, keep trying to get better and stay
focused and believe in himself.

 

[White Shogun]

Very nice commentary by Jermaine O'Neal. Thanks for posting this.

 

[ocaamikedm11]

I too am patiently waiting for the day Darko gets a fair chance..

 

[whiteCB]

Good comment by Jermanine but he's still the idiot who called the new NBA dress code racist.

 

[Deacon]

From Hoopshype.com


Jermaine O'Neal: Opportunity and the right situation are everything in the

NBA. I'm sure that if he keeps on doing what he's doing right now and if

somebody takes a chance on him, even if it's not Detroit, as it was the

case with me and Indiana. He just needs to keep getting better, keep

working on his game, stay positive and believe in yourself more than

anything else. Because everybody's going to have an opinion about you.

You know, sometimes I wonder what makes an analyst an analyst...you

can't analyze a person's heart and a person's will. So my message to

Darko will be: just keep on doing what got you here and keep getting

better and that's it. You know, there's a reason why they took you as No.

2 in the draft.



Every situation isn't good for you. I don't think that Detroit is a good fit

for Darko. Hopefully, he will come to the situation like in Sacramento, on

a team that goes up and down. He seems to have a nice touch with his

jump shot and the ability to get up and down the floor. So, when his

contract comes up, my advice for him is to go out and find the team that

his game is well suited for and I think that he is going to really have a

great chance if he keeps working, keep trying to get better and stay

focused and believe in himself.

He's the black Tony Robbins!

 

[Deacon]

Good comment by Jermanine but he's still the idiot who
called the new NBA dress code racist.

He also accused David
Stern of being a racist for wanting to up the age requirement for NBA
entrants.

 

[GreatLakeState]

Milicic isn't a bust but is wrong fit
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Burning questions as we near the season's midway point:

Q . Almost halfway through his third season, can we officially call Darko
Milicic a bust?

A . No. If the Pistons were to release him today or trade him, thus
essentially acknowledging they've given up on him, then, yeah, you could
call him a bust.

They haven't given up on him. He still is only 20. He still has NBA skill,
and he does some things (quickness, footwork and passing skills) that
most guys his size can't do.

There is still some serious upside to this guy. I don't think he's ever going
to be a star, and given he was a No. 2 overall pick, most might use that
and conclude he was a bust.

But I still see him having a long and somewhat productive career, perhaps
one similar to that of a Rik Smits or Detlef Schrempf, guys who averaged
around 14 points and eight rebounds over long careers.

The thing is, though, I don't think that will ever happen here.

Q . Why do you say that?

A . Because there's just been a bad mix of expectation and immaturity
and negativity for him here, and I don't think it's in his heart or mind to
fight through it. I get the sense he is angling for a clean start somewhere
else.

He didn't respond to Larry Brown's tough love, and he's not responding to
Flip Saunders' kinder, gentler approach. What can you do? He doesn't play
or practice with any real passion or sense of urgency.

You watch him during the three-on-three scrimmages at the end of
practice, and he's just going through the motions. Established veterans
such as Dale Davis and Lindsey Hunter are playing these scrimmages like
their lives are on the line, really competing hard. Milicic, meanwhile,
mostly stands around the perimeter, jacking up three-point shots, not
bothering to get inside and mix it up under the basket.

He just seems resigned to the fact he never will be able to play a
meaningful role on this team, and he's simply biding his time until his
contract runs out.

Being a finesse player is not necessarily a fatal flaw. Being a perimeter-
oriented 7-footer who can distribute the ball isn't always a bad thing,
either. There are places where those types of attributes are welcomed and
rewarded.

But not here. On a team of tough, hard-nosed players who grind night in
and night out, Milicic's softer style just doesn't play very well -- not to
the fans and not to his teammates.