There may be a thaw with some teammates, but the overall forecast for Marbury's future with the team remains cloudy with a chance of waivers. Mike D'Antoni in one breath praised Chris Duhon, who was brought in to take over the point guard role, by saying, "I think we got a steal." In another breath he candidly admitted an inquiry about Marbury's game being perfectly suited for D'Antoni's style was "a loaded question" and he continued with a measured, noncommittal reply.

"I just know he's a really, really good player," D'Antoni said. "Like I said before, if you're doing everything right and you're playing hard and you're really good, how can you not be a contributor and someone important on the team? I think we're leaving it there right now.

"We'll see how it evolves," D'Antoni continued. "I'm sure everybody's waiting on pins and needles; he probably is, too, and all the players. But we're going to pick the best team and go with it."

Thus far D'Antoni has exclusively used Duhon next to starting shooting guard Jamal Crawford in the five-on-five sets. Though it is very early in the process, it seems evident that D'Antoni likes that tandem for his backcourt. Marbury has been very strong on the opposite team along with Nate Robinson. There is no question that Marbury -- like just about all of the players on the court -- showed up at camp in terrific shape.

Posted by Pharzeone:

This seems to support what Isola reported earlier. Thanks. I think that was the main reason why Walsh and D'Antoni wanted Marbury gone before camp because everyone knows that he is still the best player on this team. His mental challenges have always held him back but you don't get 20 and 8 by luck. I read where someone else say that Duhon has looked like a ok backup and that's it, so far. Good to hear that Malik is indeed still alive and still being the professional that he has been his entire career. I think when it all said and done Mardy will make Walsh and D'Antoni look foolish for Roberson and Duhon signings.

Posted by nixluva:

A passing PG is not gonna look as impressive as Steph but that's not the point. The idea is to have the ball spread around and keep everyone involved and hot. It sounds to me like MDA is looking at the long term success of the team and not how impressive a guy looks getting his own offense. We all know Steph is a former All Star offensive force and Duhon is not.

Posted by Pharzeone:

Posted by nixluva:

A passing PG is not gonna look as impressive as Steph but that's not the point. The idea is to have the ball spread around and keep everyone involved and hot. It sounds to me like MDA is looking at the long term success of the team and not how impressive a guy looks getting his own offense. We all know Steph is a former All Star offensive force and Duhon is not.

What qualifies someone as a passing pg? If you keep saying enough times? You must be confused but D'Antoni is the head coach and he was running his system. Do you think he was running half court drills to let Marbury shine while Duhon was given a different set of plays to run? The 5 on 5 is head to head. Either you can play or you can't as well as someone else. Wake me up when Duhon averages anything close to 8 assist a game. The guy was so solid at the position that Bulls took Derrick Rose and said "bye" to Duhon. The fact Paxson was thinking about how he could land a Beasley and get Augustine in the same draft told me all I need to know about what they thought of Duhon.