Milicic in Minnesota: Last NBA stop or, finally, a new home?

It was the most unusual of positions for Darko Milicic. For most of his seven years in the NBA, Milicic looked sideways at his coaches, eager to leave his seat on the bench for some serious action on the floor. Now, in consecutive games with Minnesota, the big guy has found himself looking to the sidelines at his coaches, a little eager to get a seat on the bench for some serious blow.

When you play as little as Milicic had played this season in New York, and you've been warehoused as often at three of your four previous NBA stops as he has been, stamina is a factor. Almost as big for the 7-footer from Serbia-Montenegro -- and notorious 2003 Draft "bust" -- as patience, perspective and faith.

Thanks to those last three attributes, a little stamina might actually matter. And a popular hoops blog might have to switch up its domain name because Darko might actually, finally, be freed after all.

Two games is an awfully small sample size. But given how out of whack Milicic's Timberwolves performances have been with the teensy expectations he dragged with him at the league's trading deadline Thursday, it's impossible not to speculate on what might have been. Or what still could be.

On Sunday in Minneapolis, Milicic made what he vowed would be the first of no more than 26 more NBA appearances -- he said he was "100 percent'' certain to leave the league and its frustrations behind this summer, resuming and restoring his career in Europe. Already weary from the nonstop reminders of his failed No. 2 status with Detroit in a Draft that, on subsequent picks, produced Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, Milicic didn't appreciate bouncing through Orlando and Memphis even when his minutes increased. And he really didn't like being traded by the Knicks rather than bought out last week, since it meant leaving behind his family (and 7-month-old son) in New York for seven weeks of dead-end basketball.

"I'm just trying to make the best of it this last month and a half,'' Milicic said.

Said David Kahn, the Wolves president who met with Milicic Thursday in New York for a long lunch and soul-searching conversation: "He sees this latest trade as just one more incident that has befallen him.'' Kahn used words like "traumatized'' and "distraught'' to describe Milicic's mood.

Then something surprising happened. Milicic played -- and stayed on the floor -- against Oklahoma City, racking up eight points, eight rebounds, two assists and one block in 19 minutes. He was sucking wind -- he had not appeared in a game since Nov. 13 at Madison Square Garden -- but the adrenaline and the moment overcame his conditioning woes. Beyond his obvious size and presence defensively, his hoops acumen revealed itself on a fourth-quarter play when he delivered a precise bounce pass to Damien Wilkins cutting backdoor for a dunk that got Minnesota to within 86-84.

Milicic got a standing ovation as he exited and there were chants down the stretch of "We want Darko! We want Darko!'' from fans actually pumped about his play, not treating him like a mascot. Wolves coach Kurt Rambis obliged, and on a night when his team lost by two points, 109-107, he was a plus-35 during his stints on the court.

"You can tell he has an extremely high basketball IQ," Rambis said afterward. "He just picked up stuff naturally without even having to tell him half the stuff. ... He can play opposite Al [Jefferson]. He can play opposite Kevin [Love]. He can play opposite Ryan Hollins or with Ryan Gomes. We see him being able to fit with everybody."

Maybe even better when he's not gasping. "I didn't expect to play that long,'' Milicic said. "I got tired. I kept talking to the coaches about how I was feeling. I didn't want to hurt the team because I was getting winded.''

Said Love: "He can do some tremendous things out there. It's good, because we've got to figure out if we can play with a legit center between Al and me. He can shoot it. He's pretty athletic, and he plays hard when he wants to. So we'll see."

At Miami Tuesday night, Milicic surprised again. He played more than 24 minutes, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and his impact defensively (three blocks, a 47-36 rebounding edge for the Wolves) was greater than his own four points and two boards would suggest. And rather than playing alongside Jefferson, he was in the veteran low-post man's spot, raising all sorts of scenarios given the rumors already circulating about Jefferson's eventual relocation.

So now it's down to 24 games and done for Milicic in the league where his name became a punchline. Of course, at his age (he won't turn 25 until June) it's always possible the big guy could go back overseas, hone his skills, pad his resume (5.4 points, four rebounds, 17 minutes in 347 NBA appearances) and return some day. Sort of an Arvydas Sabonis arc, hopefully minus the knee problems.

A more intriguing plot would be for Milicic, having endured what's left of a Minnesota winter and the learning curve of Rambis' triangle offense, to be won over by his new team and opportunities.

"I want him to have a positive experience here, that's all,'' Rambis said upon Milicic's arrival. "I want him to feel good about this environment, this franchise. Feel good about his abilities on the floor. Get him playing, get him having fun again, get him feeling good about basketball again. We'll deal with what comes out of it after that."

Said Milicic: "Hard, really hard, to see me playing. But you never know what could happen. I went through a lot of bad experiences in this league ... If it's a good experience, it's only 26 games.''

Yeah, but if it's a great experience, it might be enough to make Milicic reconsider. And now, someone might actually want him to.

Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA for 25 years.

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