Serbo-Montenegrin center Darko Milicic looks like he could receive more playing time with the Detroit Pistons next season under new coach Flip Saunders.

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars announced on Thursday that the team has exercised its club option on Milicic's contract for the 2006-07 season.

The second overall pick in the 2003 draft, Milicic has had little opportunity to play in his first two seasons with the Pistons under former coach Larry Brown.

In 71 regular season contests, Milicic has averaged 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds in just 5.8 minutes per game.

The 20-year-old Milicic showed flashes of potential towards the end of the 2004-05 regular season.

He played 30 minutes in each of Detroit's last two games and scored 25 points while shooting 47% (9-for-19) from the field.

Last week, the Pistons agreed to a buyout of Brown's contract and hired Saunders as his successor.

The 2.12m Milicic played five games with the Pistons from July 6-15 in the 2005 Reebok Vegas Summer League and averaged 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in 29.8 minutes.