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Darko Milicic moves on to Orlando

By VoxMediaUser102394

ESPN's Eric Karabell weighs in on the Darko Milicic trade:

The Magic will play the kid. Last night, in yet another loss, the team's sixth straight in what will be a lottery season, Orlando started a front line of Dwight Howard (double-double stud), Hedo Turkoglu (competent shooter, but can play shooting guard) and Tony Battie (stopgap playing too many minutes). The bench featured no size. Milicic should be able to get immediate minutes. In deep fantasy leagues, 10 points and five rebounds a night would interest people, no? What if Darko is better than that right away? Couldn't you see this playing out by Milicic having some real big games, and reporters calling the trade a mistake for the Pistons, even though they're on the way to the NBA Finals yet again?

I could definitely see Darko getting 10-5 the rest of the way, and if he's playing long enough to do that, you can count on at least a block or two each game -- don't forget, this kid led the league in the preseason in blocked shots. Yeah, it's the preseason and doesn't really mean much now, but it's something to keep in mind.

Darko preferred to roam the perimeter a little too much for Larry Brown's taste, and Brown was always trying to get him to stay in the post with his back to the basket. Flip Saunders gave him a little more freedom, not that we say too much of him this year. Hopefully the Magic will let Darko play his game -- they already have Howard to dominate the post down low -- which might result in at least a handful of three-pointers the rest of the way.

Darko is likely a free agent in most fantasy leagues, and considering most leagues have him as forward/center eligible, he's certainly a guy worth picking up if you have the room.

As for Carlos Arroyo, well, we'll have to see how many more trades the Magic pull off before we really gauge his new role -- the Magic have a glut of point guards, and you have to figure at least two of them are set to be moved.

Update [2006-2-18 1:29:12 by Matt Watson]: Tom Carpenter of the Roto Times took a look at this trade in his latest column.

Darko needs Magic [Eric Karabell, ESPN]