Showing posts with label Stephon Marbury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephon Marbury. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Is Stephon Marbury More Deranged Than Ron Artest?
I only caught about ten minutes of Stephon Marbury's bizarre 24-hour performance on UStream.tv, but the small segment I watched made the Michael Jackson memorial look downright dignified. Some things in life, Steph, are meant to be private.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Starburst
When Knicks President of Basketball Operations Isiah Thomas acquired Stephon Marbury from the Phoenix Suns in January 2004, Marbury was heralded as the man who would once again make the Knicks relevant. Marbury, a basketball prodigy from Coney Island, returned home to great fanfare and irrationally high expectations. A backcourt of Marbury and shooting guard Allan Houston, Knicks fans were led to believe, was supposed to make the Knicks a perennial playoff threat, and perhaps, with a few minor additions, a championship-caliber team. Houston got hurt, and Marbury, with Thomas's full support, quickly became the face of a shockingly dysfunctional franchise.
In his first season in New York, Marbury led a mediocre team to the playoffs, where they were summarily dismantled in four games by Jason Kidd and the Nets, the eventual Eastern Conference champions. Things got progressively worse from there, to say the least. Amazingly, that 2004's first-round exit was, in retrospect, Marbury’s brightest moment as a Knick. In subsequent seasons, Marbury led the Knicks to 33, 23, 33 and 23 victories, respectively, and seemingly did his best to embarrass and hijack the franchise, alienating teammates, executives and, eventually, fans with a number of high-profile off-the-court incidents, including his role in the sexual harassment case against Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden, the subsidiary of Cablevision that owns the Knicks.
After Donnie Walsh named Mike D’Antoni head coach, D’Antoni, who dealt with Marbury—and his massive ego—in Phoenix, decided the team was better off without him and banished Marbury to the bench. Marbury’s days as a Knick were obviously numbered. It was only a matter of time until he was traded or released.
Yesterday’s buyout, then, should come as no surprise to anyone who’s followed the NBA this year. Marbury’s been finished with the Knicks for months. The buyout just made it official.
I have nothing bad—or good—to say about Marbury. My venom is reserved for Thomas, who, in my mind, is most responsible for running the organization into the ground. Marbury just rode shotgun. Although I’m relieved Marbury's no longer on the team, I’m not going to get worked up about his buyout one way or the other. He’s gone, just like Moochie Norris and Steve Francis before him. Let’s just leave it at that.
In his first season in New York, Marbury led a mediocre team to the playoffs, where they were summarily dismantled in four games by Jason Kidd and the Nets, the eventual Eastern Conference champions. Things got progressively worse from there, to say the least. Amazingly, that 2004's first-round exit was, in retrospect, Marbury’s brightest moment as a Knick. In subsequent seasons, Marbury led the Knicks to 33, 23, 33 and 23 victories, respectively, and seemingly did his best to embarrass and hijack the franchise, alienating teammates, executives and, eventually, fans with a number of high-profile off-the-court incidents, including his role in the sexual harassment case against Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden, the subsidiary of Cablevision that owns the Knicks.
After Donnie Walsh named Mike D’Antoni head coach, D’Antoni, who dealt with Marbury—and his massive ego—in Phoenix, decided the team was better off without him and banished Marbury to the bench. Marbury’s days as a Knick were obviously numbered. It was only a matter of time until he was traded or released.
Yesterday’s buyout, then, should come as no surprise to anyone who’s followed the NBA this year. Marbury’s been finished with the Knicks for months. The buyout just made it official.
I have nothing bad—or good—to say about Marbury. My venom is reserved for Thomas, who, in my mind, is most responsible for running the organization into the ground. Marbury just rode shotgun. Although I’m relieved Marbury's no longer on the team, I’m not going to get worked up about his buyout one way or the other. He’s gone, just like Moochie Norris and Steve Francis before him. Let’s just leave it at that.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Out-Blagoing Blagojevich
Stephon Marbury continues to demonstrate his grasp of reality is even more tenuous than Rod Blagojevich’s. Despite numerous reports to the contrary, Steph continues to insist teams are very much interested in his services, even though the Knicks refuse to buy out the last year of his contract.
It's exactly this kind of crazy that got Steph into this mess in the first place.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Odds & Sods
Stephen Marbury considers distant shores, while Alonzo Mourning is once again put out to pasture. Major League Baseball may have a major league bat problem on their hands, but Melky Cabrera, a AAAA outfielder if there ever was one, has about 1.4 million new reasons to celebrate. Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan says his team will get to meet President Obama one day, while the president's brother-in-law is still just looking for another win.
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