http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2332021 There's one less available big men for the Warriors to nab.
You never know. There are red flags about the guy. He complains about playing time and when he does get playing time, he just simply sucks. He's young and all, but I don't think the very young Andris Biedrins ever missed any dunks or broke his hand on the rim like Darko did. That's just clumsy and it reinforces him being an idiot for complaining about playing time when he doesn't even play garbage minutes that well. He could very well join the list of top drafted underachievers. However, I've seen flashes of what Darko could be and the potential is scary. He can rebound, he can pass, he can dribble, he can shoot, he can block shots. He's athletic, tall, agile, and strong. But damn, you know something is up if they'd rather have an aging Ben Wallace further down the line than this guy. Otherwise, why dump him so early if he could be a future franchise talent? Let's just say Kwame Brown also had scary potential, but damn that guy is the same as ever (for the most part). Sometimes, there's a mindset that great players have and Darko's maturity to develop that mindset is in question, otherwise Detroit GM Carroll Dawson wouldn't have made the trade. They'd find some way to incorporate him into the current team. I mean Sheed and Ben Wallace ain't getting any younger. If Darko was doing well in practice and was a great future franchise talent to invest lots of money in, I would think Dawson would keep him. But he didn't. I think Dawson knows something about Darko and the Magic were just desperate to cover up their ineptitude over the whole Fran Vasquez debacle. Remember which GM Orlando has? Dave Twardzick, the guy who crippled the Warriors franchise so badly it took two GMs to finally right the ship in a better direction that we see now. I bet Twardzick will lose on this trade for some reason. Call it a hunch. Also, if Fran Vasquez was any good, I wonder if we could get the rights to him for cheap. If we do a trade that screws over a former GM, I'd love it.
Common sense tells me that Orlando made a good deal. But, my instint tells me that Twerdizik just can't make a single right deal. Let's see if Darko can be next Dirk or next Skita. It's funny to see how Twerdzik is now hung on euro product all of sudden. Maybe, because there hasn't been any great Euro's in last couple years, so maybe, it's the path Twerdzik will take. For Biedrins, I really like to compare him with Swift. They both were drafted at 11th and 12th, same age, almost same height, and both are having a good 2nd year as well. Swift may be stronger and skilled, but Biedrins is exceptionally quick for his height. Both guys have promising futures...
It's too early to say whether Twardzick f-ed up again in his drafts, it's probably why he didn't mind giving up a future draft pick. If Fran Vasquez comes into the league later a lot better than he would have this year, it might have been better for Vasquez to stay in Europe and better for the Magic in terms of resources. Twardzick hasn't done anything spectacular to help or hurt the team since its his first year as GM along with that other guy. In fact the Darko/Arroyo trade almost makes perfect sense for both sides. Since they managed to get Carlos Arroyo, who is a capable starter in the right offense, this makes trading Steve Francis a lot easier and they got something for Cato who was probably gone anyway.
