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player ready...Imagine the irony if Stephon Marbury takes down Isiah Thomas.
The New York media are raging in the wake of Marbury’s going AWOL followed by subsequent reports the guard had threatened to blackmail Thomas to keep him as a starter (Marbury was benched when he returned) and then the team believed to have voted for Marbury to sit one game when he returned (he played).
Thomas was wildly celebrated and praised for acquiring Marbury, a New York native, in the 2003-04 season. Thomas has been a risk-taker on questionable players from the moment he got the Knicks job, and his latest — Zach Randolph — seems to be working out well for now. The latest speculation is a new general manager will replace Thomas. The usual suspects include Jerry West, Jerry Colangelo, Kiki Vandeweghe or Donnie Walsh, a media friendly New York native leaving the Pacers after this season who already hired agent Steve Kaufman.
Some NBA sources say Madison Square Garden President Steve Mills is the one to go and Thomas could survive.
Marbury was a stain on the NBA from the day he arrived. And because he was 19, everyone excused him.
He seemed set for life in Minnesota with Kevin Garnett — the Bucks passed on Marbury in the draft because agent David Falk told them Marbury wouldn’t sign — but Marbury forced his way out after the new collective bargaining agreement meant he couldn’t be paid more than Garnett.
Marbury forced a trade to New Jersey when he told Timberwolves management he could never play with anyone paid more money than he was, even Garnett, who already was ceding all the big shots to Marbury.
With the Nets, Marbury alienated teammates — at one time writing “All Alone” on his sneakers.
He was traded to Phoenix after Jason Kidd’s domestic-abuse incident and continued a lifetime of false entitlement. He would park his car across three spots of suite owners, attended season ticket-holders’ events playing hand-held video games, and showed up at a formal event in jeans. He wore the same attire to a state dinner before the 2004 Olympics and had coach Larry Brown so angry, the coach tried to send Marbury home. USA Basketball refused. When Brown coached the Knicks, Marbury refused to listen to him.
And then there’s the Marbury Factor: Teams get better when he leaves.
*His last season in Minnesota was the lockout. The T’wolves were .500. The next season they won 50 games.
*His last season in New Jersey, the Nets were 26-56. First season after he was gone, the Nets were 52-30.
*In Marbury’s last season in Phoenix, the Suns were 29-53. The next season, 62-20.
*The Knicks won 37 games the season before he came, 39 his first year and no more than 33 in a season since.
One bad guy can ruin your franchise. And your career. It’s why you have to be especially careful when taking a chance with character flaws for athletic talent.
Marbury is the poster child for that warning and a good lesson for the rest of the NBA.
The Knicks will have a chance — once Marbury is gone.