 Injury note on Nov 13, 2007 (AWOL)
That's what it reads on Stephon Marbury's player profile on Yahoo right now. AWOL? Have you ever seen that before? The dude took off and left his team in Phoenix and flew back to New York after having a run in with Isiah Thomas about playing time. This could get real crazy, real quick.
According to a person close to the team, Marbury's air rage began when Eddy
Curry, following a conversation with Isiah Thomas, told Marbury that he and
Marbury were being pulled from the starting lineup against the Suns. Upon hearing that he would back up second-year guard Mardy Collins, Marbury
marched toward the front of the plane to meet with Thomas. Five minutes later,
an enraged Marbury told his teammates that if he wasn't starting he wouldn't
suit up for the game. But it was something else Marbury said that stunned his
teammates in the back of the luxury plane. "Isiah has to start me," Marbury fumed, according to the source. "I've got so
much (stuff) on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can (get) me. But I'll (get)
him first. You have no idea what I know."
Who talks like that? Aren't they supposed to be playing basketball? I know SML is a big fan of Marbury's, and it's great that Marbury has some affordable shoes, but I don't like the guy. I've questioned his mental health ever since he left Minnesota for New Jersey and his talk of playing in Italy this past off-season pretty much topped it off for me. There is no doubt that the guy has a lot of basketball skills, but he sure isn't very intelligent.... Of course, whenever I speak of a lack of intelligence I have to talk about Isiah. I'm not sure what the heck he's doing with that team. I'll give the guy some credit, he's been able to draft and sign a pretty decent roster. Still, he should have been fired....like two seasons ago and he definitely should have been fired this past off-season after the trial (that I'm trying not to talk about). Why he's still around, I don't know.
It's time for the Knicks to clean house. Get rid of Isiah and Marbury. I don't know what it would take to do that but right now they are ruining one of the most storied franchises in the NBA, if not all of sports.
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oh, good grief...
if you judged a man by the jerseys he has hanging in his closet, my T.O., barry bonds, and marbuy jerseys would no doubt make me look like raging lunatic.
i like marbury. a lot. i've liked him since he played down here in georgia tech. but he really might be crazy. and it's sad becuase he has all of the talent in the world. he could have been in the hall of fame. i heard something interesting last night. in his 12 seasons, he's played for TWELVE HEAD COACHES. that'd make me crazy, too.
Being the point guard I'm thinking he had a hand in some of those guys vacating the premisis
I can't wait for Starbury to dish on the times he and Isiah cruised for interns and local school girls. His dream of playing in Italy may come true sooner than later.
It's to the point where marbury could say just about anything, isn't it?
i'm not making excuses for him. at some point, regardless of the circumstances, you have to man up and, uh... be a man? especially when you're pulling in 20 mil a season. there has to be more going on here, though. say what you will about marbury, but he's still the best PG the knicks have. why reduce his role (allegedly)?
correct or not, he probably feels like he had thomas' back during the "unpleasantness" over the summer and he's getting backstabbed.
can't wait to see the odds for where he lands next (and it won't be italy).
Yeah, I agree with Grifter. I don't know why you would reduce his role, or cut his minutes, without a viable option.
Also, he hasn't done that poor a job offensively - he's 13th in the league in apg, and has a higher apg/to ratio than half the guys ahead of him. And he plays less minutes than anyone other than TJ Ford.
Right now it's about his lack of defensive intensity, and this was a ploy by Zeke and Dolan to spark a fire under him that has seemingly backfired. Time for them to eat their words, and call Steph back. The Knicks need him more than he needs them.
I could be way off here, you are the NY expert SML, but it seems like Isiah is the definition of a control freak. He wants his PG to play exactly how he tells them to....distribute the ball and keep the other teams PG from distributing the ball. That doesn't seem to be happening with Marbury. They do this arguing stuff every year but it seems to have escalated even more this time.
It's like a married couple that continues to fight time and time again....do you continue on hoping that the relationship gets better or do you get a divorce? I think, since the Knicks haven't been winning that many games to begin with, that it's time for a divorce.
You know David Stern keeps a real close eye on the Knicks and what they are doing and can't be liking this. The better the big market teams like NY, LA, Chicago, etc. are, the better the league is. This isn't a case of 'there is no such thing as bad advertising'.
This article, sure makes it seem like Marbury didn't get permission to go back to NY. He was fined $180,000 for skipping the game.
Why couldn't they just move Crawford to point and let Marbury be the "off guard"? That way, Ike won't have to worry about him running the team and Marbury's minutes aren't cut and he is still contributing the same way.
As SML has pointed out in his post on his site, if not here previously, Crawford is limited in his passing abilities and his ability to run the offense. Next, Crawford is probably a better scorer than Marbury. On top of that...Crawford is a horrendous on the ball defender.
It's not about Marbury's minutes being cut, giving him more minutes doesn't make the team better right now. It's about him playing defense and distributing the ball. Marbury already presented his case to move to SG when Larry Brown was in town and Brown shot it down quickly.
"As SML has pointed out in his post on his site, if not here previously, Crawford is limited in his passing abilities and his ability to run the offense. Next, Crawford is probably a better scorer than Marbury. On top of that...Crawford is a horrendous on the ball defender. "
So Crawford isn't better than Ben Gordon and/or Kirk Hinrich as he previously tried to argue...
Cobra defintiely hit it on the nail. Crawford is a great passer for a SG; he can't run the offense, though. When he does, it becomes so stagnant it's utterly unwatchable. He just stands at the top of the arc dribbling while everyone watches, waiting.
I also agree with your assessment Cobra that it is like a bad marriage. I'm going to bet that they stick together (at least this season) for the sake of the kids.
Boney: I'm not sure how you make that leap. So Crawford isn't good enough to play point guard for the Knicks (at least not better than Marbury, or Nate/Collins). What does that have to do with Hinrich and Gordon? Is Gordon good enough to play point guard for the Bulls? I don't think so, right? Crawford and Gordon are remarkably similar players... very much so, with the only difference being that Gordon has more range, and Crawford gets to the line more. Crawford is a better passer, and Gordon is a better defender. Those differences are minor compared to how similar they are as ballers. People love to pick apart all the differences in between this player and that player, to prove their points. The reality is that these two guys we are talking about are much closer in style, size and skill than 90% of any other two players that you want to compare in the NBA.
I may be in the minority, but I like Marbury, in part because I have a kid who I can't afford to pony up $180 for shoes for, and in part because I do think Isaih is blaming him more than he deserves for the Knicks struggles and think he's definitely a talented guy. Isaih vs. Marbury is reminding me of the days of Brown vs. Iverson. As Cobra said, it's a bad marriage.
If you were a betting man, where might Marbury wind up by the end of the season?
It's going to be tough to move him with his contract. If he was bought out...I'm not sure where he would go. Maybe Cleveland or Boston in the East and maybe....I don't know out West. I'm thinking he stays in NY in the end
Boston has nothing to offer anyone as trade bait. They can't even trade for Sam Cassell, who would be perfect for their team.
The Cavs are always on the look for points, but the contracts don't work out great.
The Knicks could deal with the Kings. Normally you don't trade for another player who plays the same position, but it does happen (especially with Marbury - Kidd, Nash in essence). Marbury and David Lee for Ron Artest and Mike Bibby might be a good deal in February.
But I would strongly wager that the Knicks will just work it internally, and Marbury is on the team all season long.
No, no, no...if Marbury was bought out he would be free to sign with whoever he wanted. That's why I said the Cavs and Celtics. I've heard all of the possible deals Marbury could be in but I think it's highly doubtful that the teams involved would agree to it.
Yeah, agree. Marbury is very unlikely to get dealt. But I think he's just as unlikely to get brought out, at least this early in the season.