Will Boston Be Getting Another Randy Moss in Stephon Marbury?

Stephon Marbury has taken a lot of criticism and heat during his tenure with the New York Knicks and I'll admit that he is not completely innocent.

However, in reality Marbury is mainly getting criticized for accepting a contract to get paid like a franchise player when he simply isn’t one.

Do you know how many players have gotten paid to be the so called "franchise" player, but didn’t pan out to be one. From Juwan Howard to Steve Francis aka the franchise, there have been many players that fit this scenario.

It seems as though the main reason Marbury has been scrutinized more than most other overpaid players is that he was suppose to be franchise player of the New York Knicks.

If he was on a smaller market team such as the Charlotte Bobcats, I'm sure he wouldn't be nearly as scrutinized or hated.

Marbury was and still is a great player, but he is not a player who is going to take your franchise to the next level like a Dwayne Wade or Chris Paul.

He can’t lead a team by himself, but he would make a great secondary star like the Lakers' Lamar Odom or the Mavericks' Jason terry, if not better.

However, Isiah Thomas’s gut told him that he could turn Marbury into a franchise player like himself and traded for him.

Isiah Thomas’s gut also told him to over pay Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry, Quinton Richardson, Malik Rose, and Jerome James just to name a few.

I’m sorry Marbury haters, but it’s not his fault he was offered him a max contract.

But besides the fact that he is overpaid, I can’t stand the whole “he is a cancer argument and is directly related to the Knick's woes the past few years."

With Marbury in the lineup the last four years (not including this year), the Knicks were 88-151, with a .368 winning percentage.

Without Marbury in the lineup, the Knicks have gone 35-83, with a .296 winning percentage.

In reality, Marbury wasn’t the reason they were losing. The Knicks roster was filled with overpaid underachievers who lacked heart and basketball IQ’s.

When I think of Marbury I am very much reminded of Randy Moss.

Although Moss is a better player in his sport than Marbury, they have had similar careers.

Randy Moss just like Marbury had an all-star career for the first half of his career, but never really won anything and ended getting traded to a team desperate to win.

Once Moss went to the Raiders, and Marbury went to the Knicks, both these players over time became supposed overpaid locker room cancers.

But in reality was it Moss’s fault that the Raiders were bad?

Was it Marbury’s fault the Knicks were bad?

Now I’m not giving these guys complete free passes because Marbury just like Moss has had some altercations which weren’t professional like.

However, how come when Moss went to the Patriots he suddenly was a great player again who didn’t cause any trouble?

The truth is that he was the same player on the Raiders, but on the Patriots he was in a winning situation.

Not everyone can be like Mitch Richmond who played great without causing any trouble while wasting his career on those awful Sacramento King’s teams in the 90’s.

Some players need to be in winning situation in order to be successful.

Just as Moss was formerly accused of losing his passion for the sport, Marbury, is now being accused of the same thing.

However, it simply is not true.

Marbury hasn’t lost his passion whatsoever and if he had lost his passion then he would have never been accused of being a team cancer in the first place.

If you look at his past altercations just like Moss’s altercations, they all boil down to the fact they were losing.

All Marbury ever wanted to do was win and that’s why he wants to go to Boston just like Moss wanted to go to the Patriots.

At the time before Moss was traded, he repeatedly said he just wants to win a Super Bowl.

However, pundits believed he would be a locker room “cancer” and would make the Patriots worse.

Marbury recently said “I just want to go somewhere where I will be able to win a championship. I want to put myself is a situation where I’m playing with guys that are all on the same page and all have one goal—to win a championship. And that’s the same thing I’ve been thinking about and talking about since I came to New York.”

It’s obvious that Marbury just wants to win. Why else would his preferred destination be the Celtics?

Marbury seems like he has a chip on his shoulder just like Moss did, and he wants more than anything to prove all his critics wrong.

I have no doubt that if Marbury lands with the Celtics this year, he won’t be a problem, but rather be an asset like Moss was to the Patriots.

The problem is that the Knicks don’t want this to happen.

The Knicks organization is at complete fault for what has happened this year.

Coach Mike D'Antoni promised Marbury that he would get a chance to prove himself this year. Marbury worked hard, kept quiet, and played hard in the preseason.

However, when the season started, suddenly Marbury, who would probably be their most talented player if he played, was told the Knicks were moving in a different direction.

If the Knicks are moving in a different direction, why won’t they let Marbury go somewhere else and play.

I don’t believe that you can use the excuse that Marbury is greedy and won't give up enough money. Marbury has already agreed to take less money to have his contract  bought out when he shouldn’t even have to in the first place.

When a player gets his contract bought out because his team doesn’t want to use him, why should the player have to give any money back?

This isn’t a situation like Sam Cassel's last year where he wanted out of L.A.. Marbury never said he wanted out of New York.

The Knicks were the one who made it clear they were moving in a different direction and Marbury wouldn't be part of their plans. If so, why won’t they trade him, waive him, or buy him out already?

Honestly, I think they are secretly afraid that Marbury is going to sign with the Celtics and win a title this year, and ultimately get the last laugh.

If a buyout does occur, I won’t be surprised if he does.

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