There are a number of 4/5s that we could draft at #13 that could be better than Darko. Horford, Hawes, McRoberts -- 1 or 2 of that group should be available, as things stand now. Darko's never going to live up to his scouting report, but if any of these guys do, they will be better and more reliable than Darko.

First of all no player drafted by Detroit can possibly equal the PT and production that Darko will have with Orlando. We don't seem to play rookies much- so we have a better chance of pissing that player off and trading them than developing them into a solid player.

Second of all, Darko is one of the most talented bigs in terms of size, athletacism and skill to come out in a long time. He gets thrown in with Euro busts a lot, but his talent is unrivaled.

3rdly- None of those guys are dominant college players. What makes you think they can be All-Star caliber players? Darko surely will be.

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I have nothing to say.

My previous post is all I have to say about Darko. What should be mentioned, however, is that a new rookie will be coming in under different circumstances -- probably willing to work harder than Darko, more NBA-ready, and probably better able to get PT since we're not so close to a title anymore.

From what I understand, Darko has not yet been a regular starter for any professional team, and that includes Hemofarm. His future PT and production is unknown, as it is for all players. Who could have predicted Grant Hill's production in Orlando? He was First Team All-NBA, and an absolute lock for the Hall of Fame before he got hurt. Same goes for Penny Hardaway. What Darko will do in the future is pure speculation.

Even if Darko becomes an All-Star, the Pistons may be able to match his production with the Orlando pick, which is conceivably as high as #1 (in 2008), but more realistically somewhere in the mid to late first round, where, with a deep draft and some luck, you can pick up an elite player.

Just because its speculation doesn't mean I'm wrong. Yes, injures can happen, hell its possible that the entire Orlando Magic team could die in a plane crash. So what? You can't predict injures- but I do know what Darko is capable of and I doubt any of the guys we have a shot at drafting will be as good. To say his future Pt and production is unknown- is to discredit his progress of the last year. With the way Darko played over the summer plus another year of NBA seasoning its not hard to figure out where he will be in his development.

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I have nothing to say.

You may be sure about that, but I am equally sure his head's not right and that he'll never be more than an average player, and an inconsistent one at that.

Both of us are making predictions, and let's not go pretending they are more than that.

I say, lets see how he does this season

I'm optimistic

Are we allowed to trade picks before the season starts or before the trade deadline?

For instance can Joe trade a pick right now for someone?

Yep. Those picks are all assets, although the year of the Orlando pick is not known.

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Nov 13 LW Milan Lucic had an active night. He scored his first goal in eight games since his Oct. 25 hat trick and also pounded Michael Komisarek in a third-period fight. Lucic cut his hand in a fight with Michael Komisarek. "I'll be fine," he said. "(X-rays are) negative, but there's so many broken bones in there from before you can't really tell."

Part of the problem in Darko's case is Dumars kept signing veterans that played his position.

If we do get a decent pick out of the trade then Dumars has to take a chance and leave him an opening.