Honorable Mentions
Boban Marjanovic – If Boban saw the court more last season, I would’ve put him on this list simply for becoming something of a cult hero in the city of Detroit. We didn’t see much of Boban last year, as he was buried on the Pistons’ bench. But when we did get to watch Boban work, he did not disappoint. These sporadic scoring outbursts were enough to whip Pistons’ fans into a frenzy throughout the season.
It remains to be seen if we will see more of Boban this season or not. Based on the current roster, Boban is slotted to become the backup center. However, while he is a very fun offensive force to watch, there are reasons he played limited minutes last season.
No matter what happens with Boban Marjanovic in the future, I think he will always be remembered fondly by fans for his scoring barrages. This is certainly a huge year for the big man, but his teammates’ think he’s up for the challenge.
Darko Milicic – Okay, before fans start ripping me apart in the comments section, please don’t forget that this is the ‘Honorable Mentions’ section, not the ‘Mentions’ section. I had a reason for inserting him into this section, and that reason was entirely the excitement fans had for this guy.
Yes, many of you may deny it now, but I know that most of you reading this were just as excited for this pick as I was, and I don’t think we were wrong for having that excitement. He was the No. 2 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft for a reason, after all. So, before we look back in hindsight on hate on Darko Milicic too much, let’s remember that he was a great prospect.
Many of us yearned to see him on the court for even a few minutes during his two-and-a-half years with the Pistons, and that shouldn’t be discounted.
It’s also worth noting that there are those who actually blame Larry Brown for Darko’s hindered development. It is pretty rare for a No. 2 draft pick to join a title contender like the Pistons, and the organization may not have handled his growth as a pro correctly. However, in what I thought was a classy statement, Darko denied this theory, and placed the blame squarely on his shoulders.