Stephon Marbury: What Is the Right Thing to Do?

Personally, I am glad to hear from Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni say that the Stephon Marbury story is dead. I would rather hear about the growth of Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler or the sudden interest of Zach Randolph. Through four games, the Knicks look like a 30-35 win team which might not sound like much but it is better than being a 23 win team. The best part of the team is this year is that the effort is present, they look like they care, which is something refreshing to see after the last couple of years.

Getting back to Marbury, the Knicks have decided to keep him on their roster. They aren’t going to trade him. release him, or waive him. He is simply going to remain inactive, sitting at the end of their bench. The only chance of him receiving playing time is if one of their top guards get hurt. Marbury will make his 20 million dollars this year and then be a free agent next season. At first glance, it seems a little unfair to Marbury. There is no arguing that he is one of the Knicks best 12 players. He is too good to be sitting on the bench for a below average team, right?

After I think about it a little bit longer, I don’t really feel for Steph all that much. The guy had his chance to lead the Knicks but did nothing but embarass the organization. He was never going to take them anywhere near a NBA FInals. Everybody in the NBA knows that you don’t win championships with a guy like Stephon Marbury at point guard. Why should the Knicks let a big personality take all their attention and headlines as they try to rebuild their team from the ground up? The era of the Stephon Marbury show is over.

The Knicks aren’t that bad at guard and can absolutely get by without Marbury. Jamal Crawford is a more than capable 2-guard, while Chris Duhon has been solid so far at point guard. Nate Robinson has looked great in Mike D’Antoni’s system, and is an ideal sixth man. If there aren’t injuries, why bring Marbury into the mix? For once it appears the Knicks have a little chemistry and nobody is more dangerous to that than Marbury.

The Knicks aren’t a great team. They might not even be close to being a good team but right now they are worth watching. They are entertaining and play with high energy and effort every night, which us fans can settle for right now