Darko Milicic is still in Serbia, where he and his wife, Zorana, are awaiting the birth of their first child this week, so it won't be until August when the 7-foot-1 center, acquired when the Knicks traded Quentin Richardson to the Grizzlies, will arrive in New York to meet with the coaching staff and attempt to revive his disappointing career.
Milicic has failed in Detroit, Orlando and Memphis, amid countless references to being a draft bust after being selected with the second pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by Detroit. But he just turned 24 and Knicks president Donnie Walsh is hoping the fourth time - with head coach Mike D'Antoni, who plans to use Milicic differently than his other teams did - is the charm. "Sometimes in a person's career it's the right time. He's having a kid, he's married, maybe he's settled down," D'Antoni said. "We'll get the best out of him that he has. Is it good enough? We don't know.
"It's a shot in the dark."
But it's a shot with little risk - and potentially a big reward. The Knicks gave up only the declining Richardson, who has been wretched the past two seasons, for Milicic, whose arrival gives the Knicks more flexibility in the David Lee sweepstakes, which begins Wednesday.
"There is a reason he was drafted where he was drafted," his New York-based agent, Marc Cornstein, told The Post. "Now it's a matter of will we see it? It remains to be seen, but I'm optimistic."
But one NBA executive whose franchise had Milicic said: "He's been in the league six seasons. He is what he is."
