I'd have to agree. Marbury is a career 20 point 8 assist guy. He's only 31 years old. Big shot maker and taker, gutsy player. Not the best defensive point guard, but he's a hell of an offensive talent - one of the league's best.
This past year was a disaster for him and the Knicks. SB has a very valid point - Isiah Thomas is the main culprit in New York, he made that team a mess.
Marbury has some baggage though, mostly earlier in his career. With the Knicks, he's said mostly the right things, he's been a good soldier. Thomas did the unthinkable by benching him or threatening to bench him. That's Thomas's M.O.: cluelessness.
True, Marbury has at times clashed with his coaches in the past, but he was hardly the reason for the Knicks' troubles - in fact, I remember reading how he changed his game to accommodate Thomas, how he's deferred his offensive game to set up his teammates. I have no idea why Thomas would want to limit Marbury's minutes or bench him - he's by far their best player and playmaker - and Marbury was willingly sacrificing shots to accommodate Thomas's wishes.
But Marbury's been through a tough year. His father passed away in December. He had to testify regarding Thomas's sexual harassment suit, and some of Marbury's dirty laundry was aired in the process. Last year was a lost year for Marbury.
But how has he responded? According to a recent interview, Marbury has been training in LOS ANGELES, apparently climbing mountains and preparing to dominate. He also considered last year a learning experience that helped him to grow.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/lin ... 1552694719Maybe there's too much about him, too much history, to give him another chance. Many wouldn't give him a chance in hell.
I would.
His talent is undeniable. He's kept in shape. He's focused on basketball. Regarding his personal issues, I tend to believe in the capacity for change.
I actually respect Marbury a lot. He's one hell of a competitor. This guy doesn't want to lose. He might not always play the right way, he might rub people the wrong way, but he wants to win. Sounds like a certain somebody on our team.
And before anybody mentions "ego" - Marbury has tremendous respect for Kobe Bryant. He asked Kobe for an interview on the Marbury show, which was a complete disaster, but Kobe actually showed up. I'm not sure whether Coby Karl would have showed up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwWDgdUhM7sMarbury on Kobe: "Gotta show the kid in different light." "Gotta pay homage to the best."
"Why would he pass when he can score all the time? I'd want people around me that's just gonna let me- let him do him, like how they did Big Mike."
"We know who the best is, come on say it, let the truth be told."
I think Marbury has suffered from the same criticism directed towards Iverson. They're street, and they're not going to change or jive anybody. It's easy to misunderstand or refuse to understand them. It's easy to peg them as selfish players because of their competitive attitude and their offensive talent.
But everything I see about Marbury tells me that he's one hell of a fighter, competitor, and won't back down from anybody. Like Iverson, I believe they see later on in their careers how that kind of passion could be destructive at times, how that edge can be directed in the wrong ways. So they grow up.
Iverson has shown an entirely new level of maturity after he was traded to Denver. He's just much calmer, less controversial, focused on the game, mature. He just needed a change of scenery.
Same with Marbury, I feel. Like Iverson, Marbury passed the 30 mark, where he might get a better view of the world and how he fits in it.
Maybe he's a lost cause. But nobody knows. Marbury is the one who has to prove what the rest of his career is going to be like. We're just spectators speculating. You can stick a fork in him, or you can feel like there's a Rocky comeback in him.
To me? He's worth the gamble. What's it going to cost? Very little if he gets bought out. He still has everything going for him, except history. But the past can either make or break you, taunt you or exalt you. Kill you or build you.
I don't like to put a nail in anybody's coffin. Especially when that person is still young, talented, working hard, and his mind and heart seem to be in the right place. Forward.
