Well well well. After being much maligned in the media and in the blogosphere for his four year, $20 million off-season contract signing and what was deemed to be poor early play, Darko certainly showed what he was capable of last night against the Lakers.
Darko scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out two assists, made two steals, swatted away another two shots, and nearly helped the Timberwolves pull off a major upset against undefeated LA (The 'Wolves lost 99-94 and the Lakers squeaked out of the game with and 8-0 record). All that was missing was a partridge in a pear tree. The only blemishes were Darko's two suspiciously short missed free throws in the second quarter. I was not able to get a close look, but the Staples Center staff may well have moved the basket back on those shots!
A bit more on the contract --- loads and loads of supposed basketball experts pointed to Darko's contract as one of the worst, if not the very worst, signing of the off-season. These people jumped all over the story as if Darko had been signed to a billion dollar salary and did not seem to notice some of the much, much, much larger signings for players who were not nearly as worthy of what they are now getting paid. Did anyone catch Joe Johnson (a decent player who is likely on the downside of his career) getting $120 million for six years with Atlanta? He will average as much per year during this contract as Darko will get for his entire four years! How about Amir Johnson signing with the Raptors for $34 million over six years? Who is Amir Johnson and what has he ever proven? The list goes on!
The outrage over Darko's contract is particularly surprising when you compare his current contract against his previous one. Darko's previous contract signing with Memphis was for $21 million over three years --- he has taken a substantial pay cut (his $4.325 million salary this year is a 42% drop from last year's $7.5 million) and there was not nearly as much venom directed Darko's way when that contract was signed. Darko is also still earning less than the NBA average salary, which is currently over $5 million. Darko-bashing has become a fun pastime for many that is clearly not grounded in reality.
Enough focus has been given to the naysayers. It is only onward and upward for Darko from here. His next game: tonight against the Sacramento Kings!
Darko scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out two assists, made two steals, swatted away another two shots, and nearly helped the Timberwolves pull off a major upset against undefeated LA (The 'Wolves lost 99-94 and the Lakers squeaked out of the game with and 8-0 record). All that was missing was a partridge in a pear tree. The only blemishes were Darko's two suspiciously short missed free throws in the second quarter. I was not able to get a close look, but the Staples Center staff may well have moved the basket back on those shots!
A bit more on the contract --- loads and loads of supposed basketball experts pointed to Darko's contract as one of the worst, if not the very worst, signing of the off-season. These people jumped all over the story as if Darko had been signed to a billion dollar salary and did not seem to notice some of the much, much, much larger signings for players who were not nearly as worthy of what they are now getting paid. Did anyone catch Joe Johnson (a decent player who is likely on the downside of his career) getting $120 million for six years with Atlanta? He will average as much per year during this contract as Darko will get for his entire four years! How about Amir Johnson signing with the Raptors for $34 million over six years? Who is Amir Johnson and what has he ever proven? The list goes on!
The outrage over Darko's contract is particularly surprising when you compare his current contract against his previous one. Darko's previous contract signing with Memphis was for $21 million over three years --- he has taken a substantial pay cut (his $4.325 million salary this year is a 42% drop from last year's $7.5 million) and there was not nearly as much venom directed Darko's way when that contract was signed. Darko is also still earning less than the NBA average salary, which is currently over $5 million. Darko-bashing has become a fun pastime for many that is clearly not grounded in reality.
Enough focus has been given to the naysayers. It is only onward and upward for Darko from here. His next game: tonight against the Sacramento Kings!
posted by DarkoWatcher at 8:02 AM
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