Darko Milicic and Shaquille O’Neal now have one point of common ground.
Milicic, the notorious ex-NBA bust, took a shot at Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert in an interview this week with European outlet 24 Sedam. In the interview, Milicic indicated that Gobert was massively overpaid, especially when compared to Denver Nuggets counterpart Nikola Jokic.
“We must be aware that money is the basis of NBA’s existence,” Milicic said, per EuroHoops. “If Gobert is worth that much money, then our Jokic should sign a contract for $500 million. That’s how much better he is than Rudy.
“For them [the NBA], marketing has always been in the first place and for the league to make it a show business as much as possible,” added Milicic, now 35. “Those numbers that are turning around today are simply unreal. Yes, a lot is spent and has to come back but to give so much money to someone is totally insane.”
Gobert, 27, agreed to a five-year, $205 million supermax extension with the Jazz over the offseason. He became eligible for the supermax as a Defensive Player of the Year Award winner and as a homegrown Jazz draftee who had accrued enough service time. Jokic, meanwhile, is in the third year of a five-year, $148 million max contract with Denver. For comparison, Milicic, who hails from Serbia like Jokic, made just $53 million in 11 NBA seasons.
It does sound like Milicic is striking while the iron is hot. Gobert just got embarrassed by Jokic in a recent head-to-head matchup, leading to some funny memes on Twitter.
