ESPN: Marbury, Celtics interested in deal

[BudweiserCeltic]

I really hate Marbury, but he's a talent we can use. Although I'd hate for him to form part of this team, I think it would be a great move for the Celtics once all things are considered. I think the whole troublemaking bit is overworrying a bit in my opinion (even though it is a legit concern). We have too many determined people in the team, bigger stars than he is. He's not the face of the franchise, so wether he is disgruntled or not won't affect the team much.

But he really is a talent, and having someone like him on the bench can really cause some damage. I liked what I saw from him during the preseason, and before the troubles started this season I really saw some determination from his part to really try make things work. But it all went to hell. He looked in good shape, was playing well, etc.

But does Marbury think they are bigger stars?

Does it matter?

[Roy Hobbs]

The time to upgrade the bench, though, was in the off-season, not by picking up the dregs of the NBA off the waiver wire.

Affirmative.

Yea, the acquisitions of PJ Brown and Sam Cassell were so harmful to the team last year.

First, Danny *did* upgrade the team last off-season, and then supplemented the bench through in-season acquisitions.

This off-season, the team downgraded its bench (by replacing Posey and P.J. with POB), and took no other steps to improve until the season started.

I don't see how that's comparable, at all.

[winsomme]

I understand the thinking, because the bench definitely needs both a scorer and a distributor, and talent-wise, he's an upgrade over what we have.  I'd be very, very cautious before bringing in a proven cancer like Starbury, though.

how much of an upgrade over Cassell is he really, though...?

None of us have any idea.  My thought is, with Doc's recent comments that he likes Sam on the bench, and Sam not getting any play at all (including in practice, to my understanding) that the team has given up on the thought of him making a contribution.

I don't think this gamble will pay off, but I guess I understand the motivation.  The time to upgrade the bench, though, was in the off-season, not by picking up the dregs of the NBA off the waiver wire.

well, obviously i would have preferred to re-sign Pose, but i wouldn't say that in-season acquisitions are necessarily "dregs"....

PJ being the best recent example.

This year we already had a shot a pretty terrific player in McDyess (who was more interesting than 95% of the players available in the offseason).

anyway, i agree that it would have been better to have solidified the bench in the off season (at least from a peace of mind standpoint), but i think players will come up that could be very interesting here...

[Kwhit10]

At this point things do seem desperate.  Who knows, maybe his attitude will change once hes on a winning team for once.  Miami had a lot of personalities on their championship team and they came together.  People can change depending on circumstances.  Plus Marbury can score, and that seems to be a problem now with the second unit, isn't it?

[jdpapa3]

But who was out there? Posey has been argued ad nauseum. The guys out there I liked were

Lue - tried
Pargo - expensive

Who the hell else was out there? I'm glad Danny didn't break the bank for a stiff. Now, we are looking at a very talented player that is available and you never know what other treasures can be found.

Last year, Danny got House and Posey to shore up the bench. This year, he resigned House and hoped that the rest of the bench would fill up the role of Posey. Heck, he knew Posey would probably be too expensive so he drafted two wings. Who knows if they are decent? They could be. Let's see if Marbury might be the Posey off of the bench. He can hit big shots.

[greenwise]

This rumor could just be false:


"Media reports suggest that Marbury may have pegged the Celtics has his landing spot. If you're scratching your head wondering how that would happen, it's not likely to. ESPN's Marc Stein is reporting that a source close to the situation says "it will happen." However Celtics' sources told HOOPSWORLD this morning via text message that it's not going to happen and that we may hear Danny Ainge distance himself from Marbury very soon. There is a strong belief that Kevin Garnett would object to the addition of Marbury to the roster, although KG has never said anything on the record to support that. Speculating on where Marbury may land also overlooks the fact that New York may make not signing with an Eastern Conference team part of its buyout agreement, a deal that Marbury has said several times he was not going to agree to. Chalk this up to "cart before the horse". It will be interesting to see how Boston handles this story now that it is out there so emphatically"

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=11099

[greenwise]

Who to trust, Stein or hoopsworld?

I am confused now...

[billysan]

What do we expect? Marbury is typical of what is available out there at our price. We either roll the dice with the guy and hope he accepts his role or dont. I dont see a lot of difference here from the initial Posey signing. The guy has a bad rep from his former team/coach and we dont know how he will fit in. His teammates dont say a lot one way or the other except that he needs to focus on the game rather than his own needs. A lot of us (myself included) will tend to say I told you so, if this doesnt work.

If he comes, I wonder what role he is expected to fill? He takes minutes from Pruitt, House, Rondo and probably Tony Allen. Will he play any defense? Will the Doc and starters prefer him to Rondo in the fourth quarter like they did Cassell briefly last year?

Finally, I think Danny/Doc outline a role for him when they talk to his agent prior to signing. Otherwise, why would he even want to come here? He could go to LA, Orlando or Cleveland if he was just ring chasing. This would seem like common sense to me, but who knows?.

[Bankshot]

Too bad Marbury couldn't keep his mouth shut.   He could have quietly signed with the C's once bought out.  Now I think every chance he has to sign with Boston will be blocked by NY.

[jdpapa3]

That is a good point, bankshot.

Marbury wants the Knicks to pay every single penny of his salary. Now, why would they pay him to go to the Celtics?

[greenwise]

I am just checking on the net and there are other articles around this. Found this on NYpost:

Marbury actually Minnesota-bound
"Stephon Marbury is on a plane to Minnesota as we write to visit cousin Sebastian Telfair (..)
We've reported several times the Celtics as a potential destination as they need backcourt depth and Kevin Garnett is more ally than enemy. Marbury has stated publicly he'd be willing to back up Rajon Rondo.

But in our recent conversations, Marbury's first preference is to be a starter somewhere"

http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/knicks/archives/2009/01/a_better_year_f.html

 

[tb727]

Finally, I think Danny/Doc outline a role for him when they talk to his agent prior to signing. )

Not sure if you knew it but Stephon Marbury's agent is Stephon Marbury    Many say that's a reason the buyout has been dragged on as long as it has.

[wdleehi]

I really hate Marbury, but he's a talent we can use. Although I'd hate for him to form part of this team, I think it would be a great move for the Celtics once all things are considered. I think the whole troublemaking bit is overworrying a bit in my opinion (even though it is a legit concern). We have too many determined people in the team, bigger stars than he is. He's not the face of the franchise, so wether he is disgruntled or not won't affect the team much.

But he really is a talent, and having someone like him on the bench can really cause some damage. I liked what I saw from him during the preseason, and before the troubles started this season I really saw some determination from his part to really try make things work. But it all went to hell. He looked in good shape, was playing well, etc.

But does Marbury think they are bigger stars?

Does it matter?

Yes it matters if the Celtics are expecting Marbury to take a back seat.

[winsomme]

But in our recent conversations, Marbury's first preference is to be a starter somewhere

that's the problem right there...

[crownsy]

I really hate Marbury, but he's a talent we can use. Although I'd hate for him to form part of this team, I think it would be a great move for the Celtics once all things are considered. I think the whole troublemaking bit is overworrying a bit in my opinion (even though it is a legit concern). We have too many determined people in the team, bigger stars than he is. He's not the face of the franchise, so wether he is disgruntled or not won't affect the team much.

But he really is a talent, and having someone like him on the bench can really cause some damage. I liked what I saw from him during the preseason, and before the troubles started this season I really saw some determination from his part to really try make things work. But it all went to hell. He looked in good shape, was playing well, etc.

But does Marbury think they are bigger stars?

Does it matter?

Yes it matters if the Celtics are expecting Marbury to take a back seat.

I think eh means does it matter to the power equation.

In NYC, he has a ton of power, 22 million dollars worth.

Here, he would get the prorated vet min, so the minute he was a problem, he'd get cut and we'd move onto the next bench dreg, which would hurt his wallet this offseason.

mabey a better question would be "does it matter if we can cut him whenever we want anyway?"