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Knicks forward Darko Milicic told FanHouse that he will strongly consider playing in Europe next season.
Like fellow 2003 draft class members LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Milicic can become a free agent after the 2009-10 season.
"The NBA for me is not the way that I want to be," said Milicic. "Looking forward, the stuff that I'm looking for is for me to play and for to me enjoy playing. I think right now the only spot for me is Europe.
"Because growing up and playing basketball, I needed the ball in my hands. I used to create for myself and I used to create for others. I used to play a lot. That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for. And for me to get that in the NBA right now, I don't think so. And I've got to be real."
Milicic is making $7.54 million in the final year of his contract. He has career averages of 5.4 points and 4.0 rebounds.
"I'm not blaming other people," Milicic said of his struggles. "I'm not crying about it. Basketball is just a game. And stuff happens. If I wasn't the second pick, who knows what would have happened? If I was some other pick, you could look back and say what would have happened.
"It's past. It's behind me. I'm going to decide after this year what I'm going to do, stay here or go back to Europe and play. I will decide after this season is over ... I'll go home and clear my mind ... I'll talk to the people that I care about and people who care about me."
While Milicic says he isn't blaming other people, he still doesn't understand why Detroit took him with the second pick in 2003 if they didn't plan to play him.
"I never understand why people are still talking about me as the second pick," Milicic said. "But I never got a chance to play. Why take me as the second pick if you're not going to play me for three years? They never let me get a chance. I still don't get it ... I never asked to be the second pick. I just wanted to play basketball."
