[Jao Mile podcast] Darko Miličić “I told my manager, anything but Memphis and that Memphis is ass” and “With Dwight he didn’t have a great relationship and says he was a pretty weird dude and even today he sees (the headlines and news) how he’s a weird dude. “

[Podcast link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvWIEM93V-o&t=4365s), sadly they didn’t transcribe it to English, so if I get around it I might translate the whole thing but the interesting/important bits are these.

Most of what he says is in slang or in the spirit of the Serbian language so its hard to get the spirit of his words 100%.

#Detroit

* He only did one workout before the draft, in Detroit and that it was pretty laborous, afterwards he was told that he had a guarantee from them that he will be drafted by them and he could relax, Darko in his fashion relaxed. Says he has no idea what they saw in that workout because he couldn’t run up the court without catching his breath and that during one exercise where they are hitting him with “mattresses” he wanted to hit the dude thinking “I’m already struggling, leave me alone mann”.

* After the workout he thought that he wouldn’t be drafted let alone picked by Detroit but was told they picked him.

* The neighborhood he was placed in was pretty bad for him, he shouldn’t have been placed there.

* They had to change the rules of the draft because at the time of the application Darko was underage. The host jokes that everybody was trying to help him succeed and Darko replies “Yeah everybody but me but I try to tell my children to not be crazy like their dad.”

* Talks about draft night and how for one of the photos he was given a ball and started playing around with it, throwing it around his body and accidentally hit his dad in the nose. His dad being pretty sensitive about his nose started cussing him out and causing a scene.

* By the time he was picked he was pretty numb to the whole thing and didn’t see it as something “wow” because there were a lot of interviews beforehand like with GQ, tests in Chicago etc. So he adapted to his status.

* One of the main struggles in NBA career was that he was full of confidence before he came to the NBA and one of the reasons his career faltered was that he lost confidence in himself.

* One of the biggest reasons also for his lack of success was a lack of respect for others. When he came to Detroit, at practice he saw Ben Wallace miss a shot and asked “Who is this bum?” where they quickly shushed him and told him he was an all star. To which Darko replied “Him an all star? He can’t even hit the basket.” afterwards he was shushed and told he was a monkey.

* Talks about his relationship with Kokoškov at the time and calls him a “martyr” for having to tolerate Darko’s excesses. Talks about his attempts to reign him in Detroit but that nobody could have explained to himself how to do things.

* He was told he reeked of Rakija (Serbian brandy) by Igor and that he should move away from the “head guy” but was rebuffed by Darko and told “leave me alone” or how after he got into a fight in Canada after a party he went to his house for help.

* Igor spent more time helping steer Darko than actually coaching him. Says he really liked Igor because Igor had inner calmness that suited him but says they grew to dislike Igor in Detroit because he was Darko’s compatriot and it harmed Igor’s career.

* Complained that the team was “too old” and that instead of vets like Rasheed Wallace coaching him, steering him on the right path, helping him develop he instead took him to night clubs and just partied with him.

* By his own words he should have been one of the men who were broke after the NBA due to his extremely illogical spending choices. He literally shopped out of boredom and when he was in a foul mood, which he was always in. He spent money on a house, it was too small so he would buy a bigger one across the street etc.

* Was at a party where he was on a Yacht and the next day he went to buy a Yacht ignoring everything and anything. He was told that he had to pass a course to learn the inns and outs which he ignored. The next day he was on the Yacht and saw people going in circles on the lake instead of in a straight path, so he went straight ahead, ignoring the GPS warning him and in turn wrecking his Yacht. He called the salesman who sold him the Yacht and the dude started ripping into Darko and telling him that he warned him to follow the GPS which Darko replied he was not in the city that he needs a GPS but on a lake and the salesman told him there are shallow parts that the GPS helps you avoid. After repairs, the lease etc and quickly selling the Yacht he says he lost half the money on it in 2 months but jokingly says that money needs to go around.

* When asked if anyone ever ripped him off he says that loads of people did but if they could have they should have, he probably did the same thing to someone else but says the only important thing at the end of the day is to repent, goes in about his faith a bit and his growth as a man.

* If nothing else his parties were the best and that he was a real host and that a few times his house was filled with people he didn’t even know.

#Orlando

* City isn’t anything special but the climate is great.

* Even though their (Dwight and Darko) games complimented each other there were never any plans for them to be a combination.

* In his words he played a good series when Dwight was out due to a stomach virus and showcased a little of what could be. After the season he was given a 40m/10 year contract (his words) by Orlando but they withdrew the offer. Says that really hurt his feelings because the offer was given and withdrawn over night because he really wanted to stay in Orlando and it was an environment that suited him but that he played the next season as best he could no matter the money he was given.

* Brian Hill backed him and in the end of season meeting he told the higher ups that he would not be starting the season if Darko was not on the team.

* Hill got fired and Stan van Gundy was hired. Darko says SVG had no idea who Darko was and that pretty much ruined his chances of staying in Orlando.

* Afterwards he told his agent Marko that he would want to go to anywhere but Memphis and his host tells him to save Memphis for later even though he already knows Memphis is bulja (ass).

* Hedo was a great teammate and they spoke in broken Serbian.

* With Dwight he didn’t have a great relationship and says he was a pretty weird dude and even today he sees (the headlines and news) how he’s a weird dude.

* Dwight had weird theories like he never fought in a fight or how he never played basketball outside because he had the %’s on the odds of injury which was even more strange because Dwight was built like a mountain but talked a girl.

* Darko says that its not that they didn’t get along but that Dwight was the star of the team and you can’t really rock the boat or oppose him because the entire team, management is protecting him.

* They had one confrontation because Dwight is pretty petty and gets easily frustrated when he can’t get what he wants because his basketball composed of him taking one dribble and driving into you with his shoulder. But says Dwight wasn’t a bad boy (mangup) so he wouldn’t straight up get into a confrontation but use an elbow to get by you or some other cheap move. He hit Darko in the throat once and Darko chased him around the court to kill him which he thought was even more of a bitch move because Dwight is built like superman but a pussy.

* He was pretty hopeful on the whole Orlando situation because the team played well around him but the higher ups didn’t have any faith in him to include him in the project.

* Talks about his dad’s cooking and how for breakfast, lunch and dinner his dad would make him [paprikaš](https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%88). How his father who could not speak a word of English would go grocery shopping and come back home with bags full of food to everyone’s amazement. Or how one time Joe Dumars was meeting with his father and him and he asked Darko if his son spoke any English to which Darko said no so Dumars went on a 20 minute long conversation afterwards Darko’s dad said only “ok” to Dumars and insisted everything was ok. Said how he understood everything he just had trouble communicating and Darko and the host laughed about it.

* Maybe he could have succeeded if his dad didn’t drag him to Home Depot every day for hours to look at chainsaws even though Darko should have probably spent that time resting and preparing for games. His dad criticized the US as terribly boring and how he didn’t like anything about it.

* One time they were at a car show and his dad was unimpressed by Maybach, Bentley etc but when he saw a Volkswagen he exclaimed “what a car!”. He went and bought him volkswagen touareg but a petrol version afterwards his dad threw the keys at Darko and said to him “You drive it! I’m not crazy, do you know how much this car spends? Who will fill it up?!”

* Says that one time his dad was laying by the pool and a crocodile was approaching him and Darko was shouting that there was a crocodile near him and his dad didn’t believe him until he saw it himself, afterwards he didn’t leave the house for 3 days.

#Memphis

* He came to Memphis already in a bad mood and that he was behind 2 great players so he couldn’t really complain but that the situation didn’t really suit him.

* He says Memphis as a city was terrible and didn’t suit him at all. Small city, no excitement and that everything boiled down to basketball, home, basketball home and that after the 2 years in Memphis he thought he was done.

#Knicks

* The style of play and environment was perfect for him but in his youth where he was young, energetic and eager to shoot. In New York, he was already disillusioned with basketball and he just played and after games immediately went and ate pizzas and drank milkshakes.

#Minnesota

* When he was traded to Minnesota he told the Wolves GM not to trade for him that he was a troublemaker and that he will only cause him trouble and wreck the locker room. He wanted to leave and go back to Europe and salvage his career. They were still insistent that he should come and finally they struck up a deal where Darko will come for a month and see if its the same as Memphis and New York and if it was he could leave.

* Kurt asked him if he could play and Darko says well the only thing he did in New York was push ups and eat pizza but he can probably manage 20 minutes per game and after a few games the spark in him returned a bit and was motivated again to try.

* Like in Memphis the main issue with Minnesota was that they were “a citizen group” and the only thing they did was show up on the court and play basketball.

* Darko played well enough to end the season and was offered a new contract, Darko crazy but not that crazy accepts.

* Rambis is fired and Adelman is hired and Darko again is met with a coach who doesn’t like him/doesn’t believe in him and senses that there would be trouble from the start because Adelman didn’t want to communicate and Darko felt that Adelman only played him because he was forced due to the new contract and not because he likes him and believes in him.

* Peković came to the NBA but due to club hierarchy was forced to ride the bench and contemplated asking for a trade, Darko said to him don’t be crazy, I’ll talk to them/fake an injury and you’ll get your shot. So he complained about lower back tightness and says nobody can prove if you’re faking or not. The host jokes that advice for young players if you want to fake an injury do this and Darko rebuffs him and says don’t listen to me.

* Peković dominated and Miličić was discarded.

#Boston

* When he finally had enough he came to the locker room before a game a bit too late and said he thanked everybody and said he was leaving while KG was talking to himself beforehand and ignoring him (pre game preparations of a sort). Everybody thought he was joking and saying to him that to not give up but he rebuffed them all but that he was adamant that he was done and he just wanted to thank everybody for believing in him.

* Ty Lue came to his house the next day after it was clear he was serious about leaving but he told him that money isn’t everything and that he’s had enough. His head is not in the right place, he feels terrible and he just can’t struggle anymore in the NBA.

* While his mother in law did have medical problems at the time and it was reported he was retiring because of that it was just one minor reason.

* He was discontent and was looking all the time for reasons to be angry.

* He never saw Peković as competition because his main goal at the time was to create a good atmosphere for himself. He wanted to have someone who he could talk to before or after the game but that he just never fit into the NBA culture/vibes and most of his teammates being African Americans just never understood Darko and their culture didn’t interest Darko.

#Toughest Moment

* In the 2004. Finals against the Lakers, when he got hit and broke his arm in 4-5 places. He highlighted to Larry Brown how his arm was shaking and swelling up and Brown just pushed him back to play, not letting him sub out and calling him a bitch and to not whine. Not playing for the Serbian NT that summer also was a pretty sad experience for Darko.

* Said his relationship with Brown was strenuous and how Brown would do him dirty but come next day and say to him “Lets do individual work”. Brown was a sly fox in his words.

by EjaMat78