For a guy who had not played for 3 1/2 months Darko is doing pretty good. He only played 8 games in New York for a total of 70 minutes, 18 rebounds, 1 block and 16 points. Since coming to Minnesota he has played in 3 games, with a total of 53 minutes, 12 rebounds, 8 blocks and 12 points. Not bad at all!

robert56 wrote:


Yeah, and his defense has been really good. I can't argue about that. Still, I am not going to get too excited about the last 25 games with him. Odds are he's not back next year, as he specifically said he wants to play in Europe. With that said, it's nice to see Love play well with a "legit center."

Darko does know D finally we have someone who can play D, i think him n love can play very well together

Mad_Dog04 wrote:


We are going to find out very soon how well Love and Darko play together for extended periods of time. Should be pretty interesting, no doubt.

He certainly is a defensive monster. I think there's a possibility we could change his mind in staying on by offering a big contract and starting minutes.

The question is do we really want to? If we're not able to find a consistent perimeter offense or a bonafide go-to guy, we're not much better because unfortunately Darko is not offering any offensive options currently. Placing him in the starting line-up ahead of Al or Love assumes that he can put a reasonable amount of points on the board.

It seems, realistically, that all this serves only for Darko to prove his worth in preparation for a move to Europe and it allows us to see whether it's Al or Love who can fit better with a defensively minded centre.

Enjoy Darko while it lasts.

T_Wolf_In_Sydney wrote:


No!

I like Darko's defensive presence out there, no doubt about that. But there's zero percent chance he's worth the multiple millions it would cost to keep him in the NBA for next season and beyond. That would be a short-sighted and stupid signing. We just need to enjoy the rest of the season and see how Love plays next to a defensive minded center (doesn't matter about Al with a center, he'll be gone soon anyways. I hope.)

Anyways, I think Darko is doing this and playing well/good attitude to parlay it into a nice contract in Europe next season. And why wouldn't he? It makes perfect sense, and its where he wants to be. I understand that.

Pekovic > Milicic

And we'll be getting Nikola after this season. I think the Darko/Love frontcourt is a test drive before Pek lands here and cracks some skulls.

czaras wrote:


Yeah, Pekovic is the best center in europe right now.
I just dont know, can he play center in the NBA.

College Wolf wrote:


I think it dependes on Darko's asking price. I would be willing to give him a similar deal to the one Hollins got: 7 million over 3 years.

guibec wrote:


Lock down Darko for 3 years after he has played 3 games for us? No thanks, I'll pass on that. Plus, I guarantee he wouldn't accept it anyways when he can make waaaaaaaaaaaaay more playing in Europe.

now im not saying a 3 year deal but a 1 or 2 year at reasonable rate sounds decent to me. Hes finally a decent center on this team n if we get rid of big al n get another PF we finally have something going....

College Wolf wrote:


How much do you think he could get in Europe?

Mad_Dog04 wrote:


The problem is, Darko doesn't want to be in the NBA anymore. So presumably we'd have to pay him a lot to get him to stay. And would we even want him to stay after the comments he made earlier this season about returning to Europe?

I am fine with him for the end of the year, but I'm not going to get over-excited about Darko coming back.

Courtside wrote:


A lot. I wouldn't be surprised to see like $5+ million per year. He'd instantly be one of the best big men in Europe.

Also, the money isn't taxed and they usually get free (or mostly free) living arrangments and stuff like that. So five million in Europe would be like eight million to an NBA player.

Yikes now i get what your saying i had no idea he could make so much more over there... Yes he probably wont want to stay here knowing hed be able to make so much more over there n be one of the best players. its sad... Ive always liked him n am just glad hes playing half a season here, n if theres a chance in hell he does wanna stay hope we can sign him to a decent deal

sigh this is depressing

College Wolf wrote: