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BlueSeats
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Joined: 11/6/2005
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CHARLESTON, S.C. - Stephon Marbury accused Larry Brown yesterday of lying to him and added that the former Knicks coach encouraged Isiah Thomas to acquire Steve Francis last season because Brown's mission was to replace Marbury at point guard.
"I didn't listen to anything he said last year after he lied to me the first time," Marbury said following the Knicks' training session at the College of Charleston. "To me everything was up in the air. If it landed on its feet, it landed. After he lied the first time I pretty much didn't look at (Brown) the same way."
Marbury refused to get into specifics about what Brown lied to him about, saying "It's doesn't matter. It's over with." But sources claim that Marbury was outraged last November when Brown divulged details of a private meeting he had had with Marbury. According to Brown, Marbury asked to have the same freedom Allen Iverson enjoyed under Brown in Philadelphia. A source, however, says that Marbury only wanted his role defined and that he was willing to do whatever Brown asked of him.
Their relationship never recovered and when Brown publicly criticized Marbury, the veteran point guard counterattacked, eventually declaring in March that he would go back to "playing like Starbury."
Many in the organization believe that Brown purposely started a war of words because he felt he would win in the court of public opinion and that Marbury's retorts would further paint him as a malcontent and reflect poorly on Thomas.
Marbury cited last year's controversial trade for Francis - a deal that neither Thomas nor Garden chairman James Dolan wanted - as evidence that Brown was intent on phasing him out. When the deal with Orlando was finalized, Brown went overboard, saying that a Marbury-Francis backcourt could rival that of Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe, former Knick greats. But in 24 games, Francis made just 15 starts, averaged 27.5 minutes and barely played with Marbury.
"I think Steve Francis was brought here to basically try to play the point guard position," Marbury said. "I don't think it was necessarily for us to be a one-two punch.
"I don't know if it was (for him) to be shipped to shooting guard or for me to be sitting down. (But) he didn't come here to be a one-two punch. That wasn't the thought."
Asked yesterday if Brown was attempting to undermine Marbury by insisting on acquiring Francis, Thomas replied: "I'll be dead --- honest with you, I don't know."
According to the Knicks, one month before Brown was fired last June, he told Thomas that both Marbury and Francis needed to be purged from the roster. Brown's criticism of Marbury and the circumstances surrounding the Francis trade are part of the Knicks' case in Brown's arbitration hearing in which the ex-coach seeks to receive the $40 million that the Knicks refuse to pay him.
Litigation aside, Francis' presence in New York places Brown's successor in the difficult spot of trying to get Marbury and Francis to co-exist, which is something many NBA coaches think never will happen. In fact, Thomas was publicly skeptical last February regarding the compatibility of a Marbury-Francis backcourt. Even Dolan felt the trade was a mistake and when asked yesterday about the Garden boss' remarks, Thomas paused for a moment before saying, "I agree with everything Jim Dolan says."
With Francis' trade value at an all-time low, Thomas, as the Daily News reported last July, visited Francis in Washington, D.C., to smooth over whatever bad feelings may have existed and to convince the veteran guard that he is in the Knicks' plans.
"Right now, my job is to make it work," Thomas said. "It's a tough spot. But either you have a tough spot or no spot. So I'll take the tough spot."
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10/7/2006 12:03 PM