There is no scarier moment in professional sports than tonight around 8 pm when NBA Commissioner David Stern will shakes hands with a very tall young man in a flashy suit and a commemorative baseball cap. At least if you?re an NBA GM and that young man is about to become the highly-paid employee upon which your future rests.
Why do GMs have nightmares about Draft Day? Here?s Exhibit A:
?He?s going to own the game. Own the game. We?re going to have to build a new arena. The only thing that could destroy a kid like that is a woman. I?ve seen a lot of kids come through here in my day. And none of them have ever played like that. That kid?s going to be a star. He?s a 7-footer that plays like a point guard. That kid?s something special.?
The guy making those lofty pronouncements? Detroit Piston scout Will Robinson, who found future All-Stars Joe Dumars and Dennis Rodman when they were diamonds in the rough.
About whom was he enthusing?? Darko Milicic.
In the 2003 NBA Draft the Pistons owned the number two pick, and passed on Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony to pick the Serbian power forward so talented that a few pundits thought that Cleveland should take him with the first pick instead of LeBron James.
It wasn?t a woman who destroyed Milicic. Just a lack of NBA skills and commitment. His career stats: 6.0 points per game, and 4.2 rebounds
But Robinson was hardly alone. ESPN?s Chad Ford was equally effusive in his praise of the young Serbian.
?Darko is really one of a kind. He runs the floor, handles the ball, shoots the NBA 3 and plays with his back to the basket, so you can slot him in at the 3, 4 or 5 positions. OK, a few other guys can do that too; what sets Darko apart is his toughness in the post.?
Welcome to the world of the NBA Draft. Where? else in the world of business does a top manager have to make a decision so important, so public, and with so much possibility for it blowing up in his face?
Indeed,Darko was not even the most legendary draft day bust of the last decade. That honor would go to Greg Oden of the Portland Trailblazers.
?You can see why he?d be a No. 1 pick. I think he?s one of the best centers to come out of college. He?s quick and agile, he?s 7-feet, 250. I?ve never seen that in a center before.?
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