Who Would You Trade For Big Man Darko Milicic?

Good news is, Darko is available and according to this thread Orlando/Warriors/Charlotte 3-Way Deal a deal might already be done?

Bad news is Darko is demanding at least $10M per season.

 

<div class="quote_poster">philsmith75 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Has Biedrins regressed? Why is he losing so many rebounds these days? Has he hit a wall?</div>

I don't think hes regressed but he has hit a wall. Defenders are figuring him out, keeping him off the glass, and I'm sure hes tired and breaking down from the heavy playing time and fast pace that hes never had to play before. The all-star break will probably do him some good.

 

<div class="quote_poster">hipokrat_x(LV) Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Bad news is that Mullin would be dumb enough to trade J-Rich for Darko.</div>

J-Rich would be a salary dump if the deal went down. J-Rich is a great player, but it's hard to justify his salary, especially when the Warriors have Monta waiting in the wings to take his job. The Warriors aren't going to be hard pressed to replace his scoring under Nellie's system.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Warriorfansnc93 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">What kind of crack is someone smoking! There is no way we give up Jrich for a bust in Darko, let alone give up Pietrus and Zarko for him!

1. This thread was quoted saying we were high on him, I have not seen one thread that thought we should give up anything of significance. The Magic want some scoring from a swing man position, that is what Pietrus can do and then some on the defensive end and rebound.

2. Pietrus is in the same exact position with the Warriors as Darko is with the magic. The only difference is Pietrus is a starter in the NBA and Darko is a big man that is fairly rare now days.

3. The only reason why I would make this trade is because Pietrus's status with us is up in the air, as is Darko, but Darko is way bigger than anyone we have. When we played the Magic, Darko and Howard towered over everyone on our team and that is just sad. We would only be bringing him in for a big body in the paint to spell Biedrens. He has some skills, but has failed to meet any potential. He is more of a forward in a centers body which would be ok with Biedrens on the court and Al at the 3.

4. $10m per year is stupid. Foyle makes about that and we all know what that got us. Dampier makes about that and he is an All Star candidate.

5. Jrich is not going to lose his job to Ellis any time soon. Ellis is a decent player, but he is still very inexperienced. Just wait until Jrich comes back to form...</div>

All valid points, however, I'm just pointing out some of the reasons the Warriors might consider this deal.

Included in the deal the Warriors would receive JJ Redick, Brevin Knight, Walter Hermann, the rights to Fran Vazquez, and Orlando's 2nd Round pick this year.

$10Million might be a lot, but Darko's agent is using Chris Kaman's recent deal to set the price tag for Darko. Big men come at a premium in the NBA, so teams generally have to overpay for their services.

Brevin Knight gives the Warriors another expiring contract and insurance incase Baron Davis gets injured.

JJ Redick hasn't been given a chance in Orlando, but the one thing he can do is shoot, and even if the Warriors don't see him part of the long term plan, he has trade value around the league still.

Walter Hermann is a tough player, and is being wasted down in Charlotte. He was the heart and soul for Argentina's National Team, but he's struggled with the language barrier this year. He can be a solid role player for the Warriors similar to what Najera used to do for them. Dive for balls, hustle, create second chance opportunities etc.

Fran Vazquez he's a bonus if the Warriors organization can convince him to come over.

The main benefit again is capspace, which allows the Warriors to keep Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins.

Potential lineup:

PG - Baron Davis / Knight / Sarunas
SG - Monta Ellis / Redick / Azubuike
SF - Al Harrington / SJax / Barnes
PF - Darko Milic / Hermann/ Powell
C - Andris Biedrins / Foyle / POB

This starting 5 gives the Warriors a lot of size and athleticism at every position. Nellie would have more flexibility with his roster to exploit mismatches.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Swish Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The only reason I said Warriors' fans were high on him was because this thread was made.

I just meant that you guys were interested in him.</div>

Actually it seems like Warrior fans from all over the internet seem to have a boner for Darko. We see him being 7 foot, skilled, good rebounder and shotblocker but don't question why he never gets off the bench. He feels entitled to being a starter, doesn't want to work for it. Hes definitely a starting quality C in the NBA, with his size and skills he could be a top 10 C but he lacks the drive to become the best player he can be.

I'd rather not do that trade but if we did I can see why we would do it. Shape already mentioned many points about what the reasoning for that trade would be but the key thing is depth and size in the frontcourt. Like Shape said,J-Rich is a great scorer and hes been the heart and soul of the team for years and I'd hate to see him go, but we've got Baron scoring over 20 ppg, Monta at just under 18 per game, Jackson at 14, Pietrus at 13-14, and Barnes at 11 plus Harrington who is perimeter oriented averaging 22+ ppg with us. We really don't need more backcourt scoring and unfortunately JR doesn't bring anything else to the team except scoring and leadership while the other wings can all play defense, handle the ball, penetrate, shoot FTs (except Pietrus).

Darko would be a great backup C and depending on his skills he could even start for us with Harrington at SF. I think Nellie would leave the competition for the starting 4/5 positions up for grabs, if Darko still thinks he doesn't have to work to start he can keep coming off the bench. Hermann can play as we know from the couple of games we saw recently against Charlotte, he can shoot, rebound, and like Shape said hes tough. Not to mention we get Brevin Knight who is legit at PG and a great backup for Baron plus hes got a short contract. Redick is a crazy shooter, not much else, he can get some time with us. If Vasquez comes over then we get another lotto pick big man. Plus we get a second or two and tons of cap space.

I still don't know if I like the trade but imagine this lineup:

Baron/Brevin Knight/Saras
Monta/Azu/Redick
Jackson/Barnes/Azu
Harrington/Hermann/Barnes
Biedrins/Darko/Foyle

Our frontcourt is beefier now, I kept the starting lineup the same because I don't think Biedrins and Darko would start together under Nellie unless Darko is better than I think he is but either way Darko will get a lot of minutes and give us some inside presence. One major problem with this trade is re-signing Darko but I'd predict a Drew Gooden or Chris Wilcox type of contract: 3 years, 6-7 mil/year. I think Darko will find himself in a similar situation as they were in where no one is very interested so he'll eventually settle for a shorter term mid-range contract.