The 2003 NBA Draft class is considered one of the deepest in the history of the league. This was the same class that had LeBron James fresh from high school, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade among others up for grabs.
The Detroit Pistons , who had the second overall pick in the draft, were in the best situation among the teams at the top of the draft because they already had a squad that could contend for a championship. That's why Pistons general manager Joe Dumars made the surprising choice to draft Darko Milicic, who they thought would fit into their system right away.
"Darko Milicic is not going to have to come here and be the savior," Dumars said per ESPN. "LeBron is going to have to be the savior in Cleveland; there's no getting around that. Carmelo is going to be expected to carry a huge load ."
Why the Pistons gambled for Milicic
The Pistons, who had the rights to the second overall pick because they traded Otis Thorpe to the Vancouver Grizzlies, initially eyed Anthony at first. But as draft day arrived, Dumars pivoted to Milicic, who in fairness had an outstanding scouting report.
In fact, well-respected scouts believed that the Serbian prospect drew comparisons to Wilt Chamberlain , as they thought the European big man was the next all-time great. Dumars felt comfortable drafting him because he was an ideal role player who could be plugged into a veteran-laden team.
"We're going to push (Milicic) to be the best he can be. But he's not going to be judged on whether he carried us this year. We think that's an excellent situation for him and for us ," Dumars said.
Turns out, Milicic ended up being a disappointment as he just couldn't find his footing in the league. He averaged just 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds in 5.8 minutes during his first three seasons with the Pistons. Dumars and the Pistons management made the decision to trade the forward for first-round pick and center Kelvin Cato.
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Biggest mistake in franchise history
Years after, it was obvious that the Pistons had made one of the biggest draft blunders in NBA history, and Dumars went on record to take accountability for his mistake. Darko was a huge bust, and players picked after him like Carmelo, Wade and Bosh had Hall-of-Fame careers.
The general manager admitted that he felt Milicic was the next young rising star who would carry the franchise for years to come or better yet, be the reason for what was supposed to be a dynasty that they wanted to build after the 2004 championship.
"I always say this, 'own whatever it is, good or bad.' The swings and misses, the guys in Detroit would tell you, I would do like this, they would be like, 'what happened?' I'd be like, 'I messed up.' Like I would literally raise my hand, like, 'yeah, that's on me.' I think you own it, like we had tremendous success, but we had some misses too. I own all of them. For me, I think in a leadership position, that's what you do , " Dumars said on The Crossover podcast.
Maybe Dumars thought that Darko was who Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic or even Giannis Antetokounmpo turned out to be. Unfortunately, the Hall of Famer gambled on international talent a little too early and it set the Pistons franchise back for quite some time.
Related: "Darko's got some bodies back there" - When Rasheed Wallace called Darko Milicic a 'Serbian gangster'
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