Posted by martin:

Rant, rant, rehash. Old and done.

Here is a better article on Marb and the Knicks. I usally don't care for Frank but gotta give him credit on this one: A VERY good article IMHO.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/story/376014p-319526c.html

Point to Marbury
FRANK ISOLA

The tension inside the Knicks' locker room hasn't been this elevated since Don Nelson was making Patrick Ewing stand 20 feet from the basket. And we all know how that ended.

Larry Brown and Stephon Marbury were predicted to butt heads in a similar fashion and they've certainly had their moments. It took eight games for Marbury to express his frustration with Brown's offense and one day for Brown to go back at his point guard. Then after throwing Marbury roses for four weeks, Brown delivered a stinging criticism last Monday when he said of his team, "We don't have a head out there." Guess who Brown is talking about?

Caught in the middle, of course, is Isiah Thomas, who is responsible for acquiring Marbury as well as the rest of the roster and for hiring Brown. It used to be easy for Thomas to recognize a problem and remove it when players from previous regimes were still loitering at Madison Square Garden.

But the days of blaming Scott Layden for everything from Shandon Anderson to the cost of concession-stand hot dogs are over. The roster has Thomas' DNA all over it and now he is caught in an unfamiliar and delicate position because his coach is clearly unhappy with the personnel and isn't afraid to say it.

Nary a loss passes without Brown questioning the toughness or basketball IQ of his players. Before Friday's debacle in Atlanta, Brown said that an unnamed player was unaware that the shot clock sits above the backboard.

The Knicks' 6-17 record and Brown's criticism of the players reflect poorly on Thomas, who has never been publicly questioned within the Garden since arriving in town on Dec. 22, 2003. It must be eating him up that Brown has been openly critical of Marbury, Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson, three guards who play nothing like Thomas once did and are now on his permanent record.

This week marks the second anniversary of Thomas' hiring as Knicks president. The day is sandwiched between a game against the champion San Antonio Spurs and a visit from the Utah Jazz, whose coaching staff includes Layden. Thomas vowed improvement when he came aboard and yet two years after the fact, the Knicks aren't in the same universe with teams like the Spurs. In fact, impatient Knicks fans are as frustrated with Thomas as they ever were with Layden.

The Knicks' record during Layden's run was 174-181, including a 50-32 mark in 1999-2000. The Knicks reached the conference finals in 2000 and the following year lost to the Raptors in the first round.

Thomas' overall record as team president is 69-91. The Knicks made the playoffs two years ago under Thomas with a roster of mostly Layden's players.

Thomas is shrewd enough to know that another bad season does little to enhance his job security. That's why he keeps saying the Knicks are rebuilding despite owning the league's highest payroll. He's now getting more defensive and defiant. In an interview with WFAN on Friday, Thomas said he doesn't regret a single transaction he has made.

We'll give Thomas the benefit of the doubt and just assume that the names Vin Baker and Jerome James escaped him at that moment.

If you gave Brown truth serum and asked him what moves he wishes Thomas could take back, be prepared for a long answer. Signing James to five-year, $30 million contract and dealing away Kurt Thomas for Quentin Richardson just to settle a feud between Thomas and Marbury would top the list.

Thomas' draft record is solid and he should be lauded for believing in Channing Frye. David Lee and Trevor Ariza can be productive role players. Even Robinson, whose ****y attitude is wearing on Brown and several teammates, has a future.

But most of Thomas' trades and signings have backfired. Thomas knows it and he can see that Brown isn't helping matters. You can almost see Thomas biting his tongue when the coach removes James or Richardson or when Robinson, one of Thomas' pets, was made inactive Saturday against Indiana.

Thomas, however, realizes that if he goes to war with Brown he won't win. His only option is to make a move that will placate the coach and place responsibility on Brown's shoulders if it doesn't work out. Which brings us back to Marbury, whom Brown tried unsuccessfully to have removed from the Olympic team one week before the Athens Olympics. He won't be denied a second time.

Marbury is blessed with great talent but when the point guard consistently looks miserable so does everyone else. Kurt Thomas used to say that it was depressing to see Marbury moping around the locker room each day. There is the feeling that Marbury never wanted to be here in the first place, not with all the pressure and distractions.

Sadly, Marbury is convinced that the media is out to get him and that they are responsible for all of his problems. Obviously, he wasn't reading the press clippings when he first arrived and was touted as a savior, even after Jason Kidd swept him out of the first round.

These days, Marbury sits at his locker before game-day shootarounds and makes snide comments to teammates about reporters' fashion sense and personal hygiene. He has never sounded so cruel and small.

It's hard to believe this is the same kid who used to sneak into Madison Square Garden to serve as a ball-boy for his beloved team. That's the one time he actually looked happy in the Knicks' locker room.

I still remember asking Marbury what he wanted to be when he grew up. With a tear rolling down his cheek, a bright and respectful 12-year-old kid told me: "I pray to God every night that I make it to the NBA so I can take care of my family."

How many people can dream that big and then make it happen? It is a story worth cheering.

Marbury is rich beyond his wildest imagination and works at the world's most famous basketball address. And yet, he's blowing it. He is never happy. He is rarely a factor in the final minutes of close games and mostly he hasn't made the Knicks better. Since Marbury called himself the best point guard in the NBA last Dec. 31, the Knicks are 23-53. Yeah, it's the media.

Thomas was hailed for acquiring Marbury and now he has no other option but to trade Coney Island's Finest. That one move would help both Brown and Marbury and save Thomas.

YOUR MOVE, ISIAH

Isiah Thomas is ready to start dealing again but he could find it tough to trade the players Larry Brown would like to deport:

# Stephon Marbury: His contract is next to impossible to trade. Unless a team like Toronto is interested, Thomas may be forced to take bad contracts.

# Jerome James: A serviceable backup but not at $30 million over five years. He's not going anywhere.

# Quentin Richardson: Another bad contract. But in the right situation with the right point guard he can be effective. He was a starter on a Phoenix team that won 62 games.

# Jamal Crawford: Brown likes his attitude but isn't crazy about his game. As a sixth man, Crawford could grow on the head coach.

# The Vets: Make Thomas a deal - any deal - for Maurice Taylor, Penny Hardaway, Malik Rose or Antonio Davis and he'll listen.

Posted by Nalod:

Frye and Curry were unexpected bonus additons!

We are lucky to have a nucleus of bigs to build around, somthing we did not have a few months ago!

LB is really the only coach that could have enough clout to go toe to toe with Marbs.

This team was not put together for the above, but im glad it is this way, and in time either Marbs will stop fighting it, or be gone. No, its not his team anymore, but he could be a great player.

Marbs and Craw are tentitive. They froze up in the last two minutes against indy. they passed up shots. I can't remember who of the two, but a defender fell right in front on the foul line and they had an open look, they froze!

Marbs turnover was stupid!

I have faith, and I don't care about w-l this season.

Sadly, Marbury is convinced that the media is out to get him

These days, Marbury sits at his locker before game-day shootarounds and makes snide comments to teammates about reporters' fashion sense and personal hygiene.

Posted by Bippity10:

His point of view is sad and dark and screams for therapy but it's a legitimate point of view and shouldn't be dismissed. We are 6-17, let the man talk.