Darko officially waived

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have waived center Darko Milicic: on.nba.com/UXhVaB

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 21, 2012

It's official. From the press release:

"Darko has asked us to release him so he could deal with a personal matter," said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. "The whole Celtics family wishes Darko and his family well."

Best wishes to Darko and his family. If you missed Jessica Camerato's piece on Milicic, his long journey as a teenager in professional basketball, and his commitment to his family, check it out to get a bigger picture of the 7-foot Serbian. Here's a snippet:

"[I lived] by myself," Milicic, now 27, said. "I was making money then playing basketball, I signed a contract when I was 13. It's easy [to support yourself] because we go through a lot of [stuff] as young guys back home, so we are by 13 already grown. You can go by yourself. It wasn't hard for me. During the bombings we went through a lot of [stuff]. For me, it was good to play basketball. I didn't think about [being on my own] because it was just two hours from home."

It's a shame that he's spent his entire career labeled a bust because he seems like a pretty good guy who worked hard at such a young age to support his family but just never lived up to the billing. We ask so much out of these kids and call them failures when they don't deliver on our expectations and that's just not fair. I mentioned it before, but I think Darko had the right attitude in his brief stay in Boston and I hope that if the opportunity arises again and he wants to return to the NBA, he'll be invited back by the Celtics for training camp and another chance to contribute to this team.