Stephon Marbury and Jeremy Lin.
Marbles: came into the league with much ado, number 4 pick in the draft. Explosive athlete, could drive to the hole at will, and dish to teammates. Better than average shooter, but not great 3 point shooter. Decent natural basketball vision, but not good BBall IQ. Bad personality/attitude, selfish/self-centered/immodest, bad teammate, never made his teammates better, and arguably made them worse. Failed as the anointed leader of the Nets, Suns and Knicks, but still was traded for the likes of Jason Kidd(!), and many other valuable trade assets. Cost: $16MM/year.
JLin: came into the league with little (no) ado, went undrafted. Good athlete. Wily, change-of-pace drives allows him to get to the hole, and dish to teammates. Better than average shooter, but not great 3 point shooter. Terrific basketball vision (not elite (JKidd/Nash) level (yet!), but at the next tier below), and excellent BBall IQ. Terrific personality/attitude, modest/supportive, great teammate, makes all his scrub teammates better! Already a leader on a Knicks team with no shortage of star power at the top. Acquired of the waiver wire for nothing. Previously cut by two other teams. Cost: priceless.
Stop and think for a minute the franchise fortune reversing events behind these two players acquisitions. One buried the team for a decade, and the other gives us hope as the final piece to great things!