HoopsHype.com Rumors

Doc Rivers on working on Darko's confidence: "“He just needs a chance; he just needs a team that wants him to do his job without asking him to be the No. 2 pick in the draft. We’re just asking him to be part of a group and part of a team. We give him roles on the team. I think he likes the roles that we’ve given him and he didn’t feel any extra pressure. So far so good. We just have to keep him in that frame of mind that he’s in now. "You can see that he gets frustrated easy. So we’re trying to eliminate those episodes. Our thing right now with Darko is to play forward. From being around for a short time, as a coach I can probably feel he’s played his career backwards. He lives in the past a lot and we’re trying to get him to live in the future. I told him (Friday), the only time I’ll take you out is if you make a mistake and make another mistake because you’re thinking about the last mistake. I won’t take you out for making a mistake. So hopefully that works.” Sulia

Boston Celtics, Darko Milicic, Doc Rivers 

Michele Gazzetti: “I tell him every day"You’re no longer Darko.You’re a Celtic" Rivers said. “And one day, we asked him what his name was and he said "Celtic" Twitter @MicheleGazzetti

Boston Celtics, Darko Milicic, Doc Rivers 

Wolves coach Rick Adelman pretty much exiled Milicic after he was injured about one-third of the way through last season, and he rarely saw court time, even when center Nikola Pekovic had his assortment of ankle problems. Adelman thought Darko was out of shape, among other things. Milicic said he didn't know what was going on. "I was trying to find answers," Milicic told CSN New England. "[Nikola] Pekovic, he started playing well. I wasn't asking about starting. I wanted to ask about why I wasn't playing at all. I hear a lot of this and that . . . I was like, 'If you guys going to fool around and make excuses' . . . we kind of separated from each other." Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Darko Milicic, Nikola Pekovic, Rick Adelman 

Milicic added: "I'll do whatever it takes, whatever I need to do to help this team. So now, if I have to go kill someone on the court, I'll kill someone on the court." CSNNE.com

Boston Celtics, Darko Milicic 

Reliving the past doesn't do Milicic any good. Living in the past? That's even worse. "I'm done trying to prove I'm the No. 2 pick and that [expletive] stuff," Milicic told CSNNE.com. "This year, it's all about Celtics, to show that I am a team player. It's not about me. It's about us as a team. CSNNE.com

Boston Celtics, Darko Milicic 

Milicic added: "I'll do whatever it takes, whatever I need to do to help this team. So now, if I have to go kill someone on the court, I'll kill someone on the court." Uh, just grab a few rebounds, maybe block a shot or two and defend. Basketball homicide not required. "Whatever needs to be done for the team to be better," Milicic added, "I'll do it." CSNNE.com

Boston Celtics, Darko Milicic 

After starting the first 18 games, Milicic appeared in just 11 more games all season. "I was trying to find answers," Milicic said. "[Nikola] Pekovic, he started playing well. I wasn't asking about starting. I wanted to ask about why I wasn't playing at all. I hear a lot of this and that . . . I was like, 'If you guys going to fool around and make excuses' . . . we kind of separated from each other." So the eventual parting was one in which both sides clearly felt was necessary. "We didn't have good communication," Milicic said. "That's what happens." CSNNE.com

Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Darko Milicic 

To make room, they paid center Darko Milicic -- the guy Love referred to when he said the Wolves have rid their locker room of "bad blood" -- $7 million to void the final two seasons of his contract and go away to Boston as a free agent. Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Free Agency, Darko Milicic 

Darko Milicic on Kevin Garnett: “I’m excited to learn from him, but I’m excited to learn from everybody else, because that’s what Boston is all about. It’s about teamwork. It’s not about one guy; it’s about everybody. It’s a team. Whatever my job is going to be … we have a championship team, so all the pieces have to be together on the same page, because that’s how the championships are won — by the whole team playing well.” WEEI.com

Boston Celtics, Darko Milicic, Kevin Garnett 

On draft day expectations: “Those guys from Detroit, they thought they needed me to be the second pick, but right now to talk about that it’s kind of different. For me, I stopped chasing the dream as being the second pick a long time ago. All I was asking the people from the NBA, my teams that I played for before, let me be the best that I can be. At the beginning, I didn’t have a chance. … For me, for people to say, ‘Hey, you’re right, you should be the second pick,’ I’d have to have 50 points and 30 rebounds. Those guys are f@cking animals. LeBron [James], [Dwyane] Wade and all those guys [Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh], they’re great players, so for me to prove people wrong, I’d have to have 100 points and 50 rebounds a game. All I’ve been thinking in my career is that people let me be the best I can be, not be the second pick, just be the best I can be. In the beginning, I didn’t have a chance. I did make mistakes earlier in my career, but it is what it is right now. I never thought I would be here, playing with these guys for a championship. I’m going to do my best to stay here and fight for my position.” WEEI.com

Boston Celtics, Darko Milicic, Kevin Garnett 

Gary Washburn: Darko Milicic: "For me, I stopped chasing the dream as being the second pick a long time ago." #celtics #pistons Twitter @GwashNBAGlobe

Boston Celtics, Darko Milicic 

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed free agent forward/center Darko Milicic. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. NBA.com

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Darko Milicic 

When Darko Milicic signed as a free agent with the Celtics last week, the 7-foot Serb also became the highest draft pick on a very talented roster. Milicic was the second pick of the 2003 draft, the player who went after LeBron James. And Detroit, which picked him, suffered through his 96 career games as a Piston. But as harsh as Milicic’s critics have been, and there are many, none will grade him with a tougher standard than Kevin Garnett, who can either make or break new teammates. “It can either make you great or crush you, one of the two,” C’s coach Doc Rivers said before teeing off during yesterday’s Shamrock Classic at the International Golf Club. “There isn’t any in between with Kevin, and in a way I like the way he goes about his work, and how he approaches the game. If you are willing to learn, you can only get better playing with Kevin.” Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Darko Milicic 

If the Celtics do indeed strike gold here, then Milicic’s age will be a bonus. He played his first NBA game at 18, and is still a rather tender 27. The Celtics will be his sixth NBA team. “Absolutely, he has shown signs but he hasn’t been consistent,” president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said of whether Milicic can still improve. “Time will tell. . . . It’s a great opportunity for him. He didn’t have a good year last year in Minnesota and he played well the year before (in Memphis). At this time last year he was unavailable. He was a guy you couldn’t get. He’s 27 years old and he’s healthy.” Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Darko Milicic 

“Most of the moves David is making are heavily influenced by what Rick has asked of us. But when it comes to finances, David will tell Rick no,” Taylor reveals. “At the end of the year, Rick gives me a report of what he thinks of each player. He tells me it’s the same one he gave David and that David knows he is giving it to me. Then he goes through the list. He says, ‘This is the first one I want gone’—that was [underachieving veteran center] Darko [Milicic]. ‘This is the second one I want gone. This is what I think of this player.’ TCB Mag

Minnesota Timberwolves, Darko Milicic 

Steve Aschburner: Had an NBA head coach today who refused to believe me at first when I told him about Darko/Celtics. Twitter

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Darko Milicic 

Ken Berger: Source confirms Darko Milicic has agreed to a one-year, minimum deal with the Celtics. Twitter

Boston Celtics, Darko Milicic 

A. Sherrod Blakely: Darko's agent Marc Cornstein also said D. Ainge was 1st to contact him when T-wolves waived Darko. "That meant a lot to him" said Cornstein. Twitter

Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Free Agency, Darko Milicic 

A. Sherrod Blakely: #CelticsTalk: Darko Milicic will be joining the #Celtics, league source tells #CSNNE.com. Story coming up shortly. Twitter

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Darko Milicic 

A. Sherrod Blakely: #CelticsTalk: Interest in Darko by the #Celtics didn't come out of nowhere. When T-Wolves amnestied him, C's among the teams interested. Twitter

Boston Celtics, Free Agency, Darko Milicic