| Walsh High On Darko |
Knicks team president Donnie Walsh isn't in the business of selling pipe dreams. He knew when he took over a dysfunctional and grossly over-the-cap Knicks franchise that there would be pains the likes of which the Octomom could relate to.
Walsh has diligently worked to get under the salary cap and in doing so, he might have acquired a player who can finally blossom. Darko Milicic was the second player taken in the 2003 draft, behind LeBron James and ahead of Carmelo Anthony.
"He was a very skilled player when he was drafted," Walsh said of Milicic before last night's Liberty game, where he was honored as a Rucker Park Pro Legend. "I think the thing that's held him back is he's been thought of as a guy that has to play with his back to the basket. And everywhere he's been, people have tried to do that.
"I don't think that will be the case here," Walsh added. "The way [coach] Mike [D'Antoni] plays, the fact that he's a skilled, fairly athletic, long big man who can run the floor and can dribble the ball, shoot the ball, pass the ball, he might fit into this system better. That's what I'm hoping."
When asked if Milicic's situation reminded him of other players who have benefited from a change of scenery, Walsh named some of the NBA's best.
"[Steve] Nash to a degree," Walsh said of the Suns point guard who won two MVP trophies. "He was a very good player in Dallas and became the MVP of the league in Phoenix."
Used courtesy of: NY POST |
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