An NBA season just wouldn't feel right without drama coming out of Madison Square Garden. This morning The New York Post reported that Mike D'Antoni has asked team President Donnie Walsh to waive Stephon Marbury. If true, this is the culmination of a week of drama surrounding Marbury's status with the team. The drama all started after Marbury didn't play in the Knicks home opener. Fans and many observers were stunned because Marbury had come into camp in great shape, and had a pretty good showing in the pre-season. Out of respect, D'Antoni says that he will only play Marbury if he thinks he can fit him in for major minutes. D'Antoni is notorious for having a tight eight man rotation, and as of now Marbury is out of it.
For the most part, Marbury has been a good soldier under D'Antoni. He hasn't complained about minutes or openly asked for a trade or to be waived. In fact, the only reason this is starting to be an issue now is because Garden fans started cheering "We want Steph" during the Knicks opener. Once the story became about Marbury not playing instead of the Knicks, you knew that Steph's days would be numbered.
D'Antoni just wants to have the focus on molding this young team into his style and not on a point guard that he doesn't think can be much use to him. But I wonder if that is really the case. I mean, is Marbury really that bad of a player that he shouldn't at least be getting an opportunity on the Knicks?
I know a lot of people have completely demonized Marbury over the last few years, but it's not like he was playing the most healthy of situations. Larry Brown completely demolished his relationship with Marbury from day one. You knew where that relationship was going before it even got started. Heck, he even forced Isiah to trade young stud Trevor Ariza for Steve Francis, just so he could push Marbury aside. And we know how much of a disaster Isiah Thomas was as the coach of that team. Pretty much nobody thrived in that system, yet Marbury is the one that has been scapegoated.
I'm just wondering why D'Antoni won't even give Marbury a chance to play. They told Steph to come to training camp in shape and ready to play, and he did that. You can't tell met that there isn't a good chance that Marbury isn't a better point guard than Chris Duhon. I understand that D'Antoni is trying to build for the future, but I don't think that Duhon is going to be any team's long term solution. So what's the harm in having Marbury get a shot to battle Duhon? Maybe I'm just being too naive.
Anyhow, I have a feeling Marbury is going to get waived and go somewhere and perform well. The Post reports that if/when Marbury gets waived, he'll sign with the Nuggets or the Heat. I'm really hoping he goes to Denver. It would be great to see what an Iverson and Marbury backcourt would look like.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Marbury a "scapegoat"? You must be joking.It's a fact that Duhon is no long term solution either,and NO,he is not a better player than Marbury.But Duhon is also NOT a cancer,a whiner,a crybaby and a me first a-hole like Starbury is.It is for those reasons why Starbury is in street clothes instead of at the starting PG position.Larry Brown knew it,and so does Mike D'Antoni,and now Donnie Walsh knows it too.Stephon only cares about Stephon..period..end of story.
I agree with you 100%. Marbury seems to alienate team-mates where ever he goes. No one can deny every team he goes to gets worse. If your fellow team members don't want you, what's the point? Miami Beach + rookie coach + young team + the self-proclaimed Starbury = Huge disaster. Pat Riley can have him, or anybody else stupid enough.
I agree about Marbury not being an angel. But I am watching the Knicks play right now, and despite good spacing, their offense can't get going because Duhon can't freaking penetrate. I know Marbury can still breakdown guys off the dribble and dish. What is the harm in at least trying him out as a starter? Guy is in great shape and seems to have left the attitude at the door this season.
Nate,
See Mr. G's comment. That is it exactly. Kudos to Mr. G, that is all there is to be said. The man is a CANCER!
WHO IS KIDDING WHO. LOOKS TO ME THAT THEY HAVE THROWN IN THE TOWEL FOR THIS SEASON. I SAY THIS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT PLAYING THERE BEST PLAYERS. THATS RIGHT STEPHS WONT MAKE THIS TEAM BETTER ? AND MORE EXCITING. I GET IT. THIS IS A TEST, TO SEE HOW STUPID WE THE FANS ARE. IT IS MY HUMBLE OPINION THAT THE KNICKS HAVE RUINED THIS MANS CARREER
mr.g, you are the biggest idiot i have ever come across who probably reads everything in the local papers, online etc... and goes to other people telling them that its true and believing every word that is printed. lets clear this up once and for all because i'm tired of the marbury bashers out there.
1-stop saying he is a cancer. thats not fair to call anyone a cancer. thousands of people die each year from this disease and to equate someone to cancer is definitely not humane nor inteliigent
2-steph while offensive minded is not a me first guy. he spends time in homeless shelters without press, on his own time, he created a shoe company to benefit families that cannot afford 150 dollar shoes and is one of the most generous and down to earth athletes you will ever meet.
is he eccentric and different at times, yes, but by no means is he a cancer
3- all this comes from an innaccurate depiction of what happened in minnesota. keving garnett threw steph under the bus, plain and simple. the twolves upon drafting garnett, didnt and couldnt make the playoffs. it wasnt until steph's arrival that they even sniffed the post season. when KG got his record breaking contract, he did so knowing that it would affect future decisions for the team and his supposed teammate. steph didnt ask for 100 mil, like KG, only wanting to be treated as the all star he was to become. if you are a team guy, maybe KG shouldve gone to mchale to maybe say hey, i can restructure my deal to make it easier or lets find a way to make this work. this didnt happen. he got his and forgot about the important piece of the puzzle that got him there. KG made it seem like steph was out for simliar money when he eventually signed for about 66 mill when he did leave.
this was made to make him look selfish. how does someone who avg 20 and 10 asst act selfish. look at the facts people. jason kidd is just as bad as steph getting every coach fired. danny ainge, avery johnson, byron scott, jim cleamons, and tearing teams apart yet he isnt called selfish or a cancer. whats the difference.
wake up. stop bashing steph, he isnt to blame for all of the knicks problems nor any other team. do your research. i can give more fact based info if necessary
Mr.N, -Only an idiot like yourself, would take the "cancer" comment out of text, and equate it literally to the disease itself.My "cancer" comment was based solely on Marbury's attitude and the impact he has on a D'Antoni coached team,and has nothing to do with charities,shoe deals,homeless people or anything else.For example,If I called you an asshole,it doesn't really mean I actually think you are a part of someones anatomy.It is just a negative description of someones character.Your utter failure to understand what you read in the context that it is written,is a very clear sign of your own lack of intelligence.
COME ON STEPH GET OUT OF NEW YORK KNICKS ASAP, I AM DYING TO SEE YOU PLAY ALONGSIDE OF MY IDOL DWANE WADE. THE TWO OF YOU WILL BE AN EXPLOSIVE COMBINATION FOR MY TEAM MIAMI HEAT. HOW I LOVE TO SEE YOU PLAY IN MIAMI. MIAMI IS THE TEAM FOR YOU AND WE WILL WELCOME YOU THERE WITH ALL OUR ARMS.
I disagree with Mr. G, and agree with several points made by mr.n. You can call me biased since I've been a marbury fan since his days as a railsplitter, but to classify him as a selfish individual would be incorrect. This is the celebrity athlete who cried his eyes out at the NBA press conference for Hurricane Katrina and proceeded to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is the guy that donated a pair of basketball shoes to all high school basketball players in the new york city public school athletics league. He is genuinely concerned about others, which makes him unselfish.
On the basketball side, yes, he hasn't lived up to his immense talent, but as a life long new yorker and knicks fan, I ask all knicks fans to recall the 2004 season when Marbury was traded to the Knicks near the deadline. He brought an awful Knicks team that had Moochie Norris, Shandon Anderson and Frank Williams in their regular rotation all the way to the playoffs. Yes, his stats were off that chart that year too (19.8 ppg and 9.3 apg), but more importantly the Knicks were 14-20 before Marbury, and a respectable 25-23 after his arrival. Remember the excitement he brought to the Garden that year? And sure, the Knicks were swept in the first round by the Nets, but those Nets also took the Pistons to seven games--the same Pistons that were the NBA champs that year.
I was excited to see Steph in D'Antoni's sytem, but I'm not sure if D'Antoni can handle coaching in NY either. I was at the Knicks home and season opener, and was one of the fans that began the "We Want Steph" chant. I was extremely offended to find out that D'Antoni called the fans "assholes" because of this. (Here's a reference to what I'm talking about: http://www.nypost.com/seven/10312008/sports/knicks/coach_curses_as_garden_crowd_chants_for__136128.htm?&page=1)
Why would a coach call the fans of his team "a bunch of assholes"? This notion bothers me deeply, and I worry for the future of the Knicks. Sometimes I feel like D'Antoni is keeping NY warm while waiting for Lebron or some other superstar's arrival in 2010. What is Wade goes home to Chicago, Bosh stays in Toronto, and Lebron goes to the "other" NY team...Jay-Z's Brooklyn Nets?
At least we'll have D'Antoni's "shoot in less than seven seconds" system where Duhon can't penetrate, Jeffries can't shoot, and Curry and Randolph can't make it past half court in 7 seconds because they're too slow.
Last point, why is Mardy Collins playing? Not simply before Marbury, but why is he playing AT ALL? He works hard, but he probably wouldn't start for half of the D-League teams. He can't dribble, he can't shoot, he's slow for a PG, and thus he's a nightmare for D'Antoni's system.
It is time to unload Marbury, Curry, and others, and to re-build the Knicks from the ground up. The other sad reality is that Michael D'Antonio is not the right coach. He never gotthe Suns to win the NBA Finals, even when he had the best mixture of healthy players. The Knicks need to assemble an athletic core of young players, and to leet them play together for several years. They need Mark Jackson to teach them the offensive game, and Clyde Frazier, as a defensive assistant to help him. They need a young aggressive athletic center and a power forward who can run the floor. They need to model themselves after the New Orleans Hornets or the Lakers. They do not want to take any of the current "super stars." Most of them are damaged undisciplined goods, excepting Wade and James.
YOU HAVE UNTIL THE TRADING DEADLINE TO MAKE A FINAL DECISION...HOWEVER IF YOU COULD GET ANYTHING IN RETURN THE KNICKS SHOULD PULL THE TRIGGER.... AND IM SURE WILL....MARBURY IS THERE FOR THE PAYCHECK.. I THINK MIAMI WOULD REGRET SIGNING HIM..