| Pistons secure Milicic |
BY PERRY A. FARRELL
When agents Marc and Natasha Cornstein learned in February that Darko Milicic would be eligible for the June NBA draft, they immediately hopped on a plane and headed to Europe.
Milicic, then 17, was one of their clients.
Seven months later, their trip paid off. Milicic signed a contract Friday with the Pistons. The three-year deal is expected to be worth $11.6 million with an option for a fourth year that would bump the package to $16.8 million.
"This was a long process, but that's the way it is when you get involved with a player from Europe," said Joe Dumars, the Pistons' president of basketball operations. "This was quite a roller-coaster ride.
"If people are patient and give this kid time to develop, he's going to be something special."
Milicic, a 7-footer from Serbia-Montenegro, was the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. His rights belonged to a European team, Hemofarm Vrsac, but he was released from his contract after agreeing to pay a transfer fee. The Cornsteins wouldn't reveal the terms of the financial settlement, which took months to negotiate.
Dumars met with Hemofarm officials last week in Serbia-Montenegro. He and the Cornsteins agreed that the NBA and FIBA, the governing body for international basketball, should come up with a way to reduce the haggling when a player is drafted from a European team.
Under current rules, an NBA team is responsible for a maximum transfer fee of $350,000.
"I don't think it would be fair for a European team to have their players just raided and, 'OK, you're the No. 2 pick so we're going to bring you over for nothing,' " Marc Cornstein said. "But in the same vein I think there needs to be a better system than the one that is in place right now, which allows the opportunity for European teams to hold kids hostage."
Milicic emerged from offices at the Pistons' practice gym in a blue Ermenegildo Zegna suit, designed for him at the Italian designer's Fifth Avenue store in New York.
"I'm really happy to be here," said Milicic, who's now 18. "I am around great people like Joe Dumars. Now I think I have best coach in the league in Larry Brown. I have respect of all players on my team, and I need to learn and work hard. I want to help the team next season, and I'm really happy about starting."
Milicic will appear in Gentleman's Quarterly next month with No. 1 pick LeBron James and No. 3 pick Carmelo Anthony. Training camp starts Sept. 29.
"The veterans have already said they're going to wrap their arms around him and help him," Dumars said.
Brown said Milicic wasn't in great shape when he worked out with rookies and free agents in Orlando in July, but Brown thought the experience was helpful.
"Right now he thinks he's Toni Kukoc, but I want him to play like Bill Russell," Brown said. "But I don't think he knows who Billy Russell is. It's our job to teach him the fundamentals, and every day we hit the court we plan on teaching. He's a real hard worker and wants to get better. I don't think you necessarily get better by sitting."
Used courtesy of: Detroit Free Press |
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