<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">So it looks like we'll have to cancel the international steel cage death match at FedExForum. "I never said Pau Gasol was soft," said Darko Milicic. Awww, dang. You positive about that? "I've said a lot of other things in the newspaper," said Milicic. Well, that's a plus. "But I told (Pau) that it's not true. He told me it's fine." Someone queue up "Kumbaya." If not "We Are the Champions" quite yet. But the Grizzlies took another step toward what they hope will be a return to the playoffs Tuesday, when they introduced Milicic to the Memphis media. He showed off his new jersey. No. 31. This could signal the end of the Shane Battier nights. He talked about the phone call to Gasol, the one in which he denied telling a Serbian newspaper, "I like to play against Pau Gasol. He's soft. If we win gold medal in Spain, I'll take my shirt off and then I'll jump from Parliament." Honestly, Memphis fans wouldn't have minded if the quote had been real. Nice to see some fire, at the very least. "Before games, in locker room, I like to yell a little," Milicic said. Yell all you want, big guy. Then go out and block shots and rebound and prove you're not the bust everyone says you are. That's the dream ending, isn't it? After four seasons and two teams, Milicic finally emerges as a star with the franchise that should have had the No. 2 pick Detroit used to draft him in the first place. Mind you, Memphis would have spent the No. 2 pick on Carmelo Anthony. But the symmetry is still nice. "This is the chance," said Milicic. "I feel good about it." Except Milicic actually said that in 2006. After Detroit traded him to Orlando. Then, that was the chance. Now, this is the chance. So there is plenty of reason for skepticism. Milicic didn't just fail under Larry Brown in Detroit. He failed under Flip Saunders, too. Then Orlando decided they'd rather spend gazillions for Rashard Lewis than use some of that money to keep Milicic around. And yet, there is also this: Milicic is just barely 22. He is younger than Joakim Noah, younger than Andrew Bogut. Heck, he's younger than Joey Dorsey, who's been known to make the occasional youthful mistake. "We did our homework," said Grizzlies general manager, Chris Wallace. "Every person I talked to, I said, 'Put yourself in our position. Would you sign him?' It was unanimous, 'Yes.'" At worst, the Grizzlies have a serviceable big guy for a reasonable -- three years, $21 million -- price. At best, they have an elite level talent who is finally ready to show it to the league. "The way I see it, this is a hungry individual," said Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni. In that way, Milicic reflects the entire Grizzlies team. After waiting until he turned 50 to get his first head coaching job, Iavaroni is hungry to prove he can handle the big whistle. After serving under Pat Riley, Rick Pitino and Danny Ainge, Wallace is hungry to prove he can run his own show. Gasol is hungry to play meaningful games again. Kyle Lowry is hungry to show he can start. Mike Conley is hungry to prove he doesn't need Greg Oden to win. Stromile Swift is, er, never mind that. But it's hard not to be impressed by the Grizzlies offseason so far. They've found a smart coach, an energetic GM, a quicksilver point guard and a multitalented big man. With pipes, too. Milicic is not small. "He looks like he's going to be in the Mr. Serbia contest," said Wallace. </div> Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal
