I think the crux of this argument lies on whether you think the Pistons actually have a chance this season. Personally, I don't. I believe that the Pacers, Timberwolves (who still have Wally and Kandi out), the Kings (who have Webber out), the Lakers (who have, variously, pretty much every decent player on the team out), and the Mavericks (who are finally getting healthy and starting to roll) are all significantly more talented than the Pistons, and that over the course of a seven game series that talent differential would be decisive. There is no guarantee that the Pistons could even reach the finals. The Pacers, Nets and Hornets are all capable of beating us. The Pacers have proven it, the Hornets are just now getting their second best player back, and the Nets have dominated the eastern conference playoffs the last two seasons with the same team. There is no solid reason to think they can't duplicate last season's performance now that the Byron Scott drama has been laid to rest.
I never stated that Darko would immediately be more effective than Elden, or even fully equal, only that the difference between the two is small enough that giving Darko 5-10 minutes of Elden's time would be very unlikely to cost more than one or two games. I think that Darko has already shown both that he has vastly more talent than Elden and Zelly and that he makes vastly more mistakes. The net effect is that his superior talent allows him to make plays the others couldn't, while his inexperience leads to mistakes the others wouldn't make. Experience (read: Playing Time) will reduce the number of mistakes Darko makes. The same playing time will not raise the talent level of our current back up 5's one whit.
The possible effect on team chemistry is a good point, and for a while it almost changed my mind, but after thinking over I think I disagree. This team isn't ready to win yet. They do need Darko. So it's worth bruising a few egos if it means Darko will be fully ready within the next 2-4 years, while Ben Wallace will still be near his prime. They may not like it at first, but after a couple months, when Darko's mistakes aren't so numerous and his talent starts causing match-up problems for the other team, they'll come around. If he really isn't ready, that should become apparent within 5 games or so, and he can be sent back to the bench. These men are professionals. They understand that sometimes teams roll the dice when the potential reward justifies the risk. One caveat: If the entire team opposes it, then I'll agree with them. They've been practicing against him all season, and they know exactly what he's capable of, both positively and negatively. Unlike Brown, they have no documented history of prejudice against young players. If they would rather play with Zelly, knowing he's not going to improve, than give Darko a shot at proving himself, then I'm willing to concede that he's not ready yet and needs to wait.