<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> Strolling off the practice court with Pau Gasol alongside, Grizzlies newcomer Darko Milicic was all smiles.</p> It's only been a few days of training camp. That means limited interaction with teammates and coaches, and the honeymoon period in a fresh system has only just begun.</p> Already, though, basketball is fun again for the maligned former No. 2 overall draft pick.</p> Milicic said he feels supported for the first time in his NBA career, and that comfort level is buoyed by his ability to finally bury the past.</p> A born-again baller, that's Milicic today. The Griz hope that's him midway in the season, too.</p> Milicic won't make any promises, except to guarantee the Griz will get a higher degree of mental toughness from him for their three-year, reportedly $21 million arrangement.</p> "I used to get (frustrated) with my situation, but not anymore," Milicic said. "I'm not angry. I just would like to play. Whatever happened before happened for a reason. I just want to play basketball. That's all. Everything else is behind me."</p> That also goes for the foul comments Milicic spewed last month following his native Serbia's loss in the European championships. It's history, says the 7-footer, who prefers that people focus on his competitive spirit.</p> "A lot of people were talking bad about me," he said. "It's me. I can't change. If you hate me, you hate me. If you like me, you like me."</p> Say this about the Griz: They used their money under the salary cap to acquire an edgy big man determined to prove he's not a bust.</div></p> Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal</p>
I like that Darko has a chip on his shoulder. If he winds up being half as good as he was projected to be, the Grizz could have one of the top frontcourts in the West this year.</p> I'm likingMemphis as a darkhorse to make the playoffs, all bias aside. The additions they made this summer are really being overlooked. Not only did they bring in Darko, but they added Mike Conley and a healthy Kyle Lowry and Pau Gasol. The Grizzlies arguably would have been contenders last season if both Lowry and Gasol played full seasons.</p>
I'll give Darko another year but I wasn't overally impressed with what he did in Orlando last season. I agree that the Grizz should be much improved and could have a shot at returning to the postseason. Who knows what Portland, Minny and Seattle will look like and I can see movement amoung the teams that didn't make the playoffs last year in the West, but who will fall out?</p>
