No GM For Stephen Jackson: Why Stephon Marbury wouldn’t help Golden State

Active players have no business moonlighting in the GM chair. Back in the day, Chicago’s Michael Jordan wanted to dump most of his supporting cast for ‘Carolina’ guys. Kobe Bryant dominated ‘The Net’ when video surfaced of him criticizing Los Angeles for vetoing the Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd trade.

Jordan and Bryant’s evaluations were wrong. Their meddling put management in a tough spot and left teammates feeling slighted.

Recently, one of my favourite players, Stephen Jackson, caught the GM bug. In a phone interview from China, ‘Jax’ ‘guaranteed’ ESPN Truehoop blogger Henry Abbott that Golden State would pursue Stephon Marbury if he were released.

Where to begin? Perhaps, the wing was jet-lagged from the time difference.

To be fair, Jackson’s intentions were good. After all, he is close friends with the Knicks’ controversial table-setter. But his comments, as team captain, were a bit reckless.

Marbury wouldn’t help. His baggage is too great for a young, impressionable team. The Warriors need stability, not some wildcard who treats the offense like an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of shots.

But I’ll play along. Suppose Marbury gets released before the regular season begins. And suppose Golden State signs him to play point guard temporarily while Monta Ellis recovers. What happens when Mr. Moped returns?

Ellis, according to Jackson, is making a full recovery. This would create an uncomfortable logjam at the one-spot with Starbury sitting on the bench, towel draped over his head, and most likely pouting.

The Warriors have other options. Reformed knucklehead Damon Stoudamire could be had for the veteran’s minimum. He’d fill-in adequately for Ellis and then accept a supporting role when the youngster returns.

Last year, Jackson had a career year. After overcoming so much, he is close to stardom. But personnel decisions must be left to the GM –whoever that is in Golden State.

Is Jackson right? Would Marbury help Golden State? Let us know in the comment box below and come back to HoopsVibe the Blog for more NBA tidbits. Photo courtesy of dinur.