Stephon Marbury: This Year's Big Steal

Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge may have one-uped Lakers general manager Mitch Kupcheck this February.

No, Stephon Marbury is not Pau Gasol, but their situations are eerily similar.

The GMs of the two winningest franchises in NBA history simply understand how to make their team’s better.

Acquiring talent at no cost to fill the holes in your basketball team. Sounds simplistic, doesn't it?

They are not gamblers willing to send the face of a franchise (Chauncey Billups), or an instrumental piece of their team’s identity (Shawn Marion). There's no subtraction involved, just the addition of overlooked stars, seeking to be rescued from depressing situations.

Sure Gasol and Marbury could not fit the bill of top-tier superstars. Nonetheless, is there not a point in almost every Los Angeles Lakers game when fans are not impressed by the fluidity and skillfulness that the seven-foot center from Spain has in his repertoire?  

Sooner or later, people watching the Lakers' east coast rivals will be saying the same thing.

Discredit his career statistics all you want, laugh at his interviews, and rag on Tyson-like Starbury tattoo. The joking will eventually come to a halt when people realize they can't deny Marbury’s talent.

A perfect 6'3” build for a point guard allows him to get to anywhere on the court he desires. Couple that with an explosiveness to finish at the rim, and a more mature mindset nonexistent in his younger days, automatically makes Marbury the best backup point guard in the Eastern Conference.

An eight-point, two-assist performance has Celtics fans excited because essentially they've seen their team upgrade from an old player-coach in Sam Cassell to an all-star potentially reborn in Marbury.

So what does this mean in the grand scheme of things?

How does Marbury affect the greatest rivalry in basketball?

It's all psychological. The mental edge card the Lakers thought they had gained has been revoked.

Similar to the Lakers, who claim their a tougher team this year, especially once starting center Andrew Bynum returns from injury in the playoffs, the Celtics can do the same. They can retort that the Celtics team the Lakers swept during the regular season is drastically different than the one that they may meet again in the finals.

Their backcourt may even present more problems than last year’s NBA Finals team. If Rajon Rondo continues to struggle in Los Angeles, and allows Kobe Bryant to double-off him, the Celtics could just insert Marbury, who’s never been known to shy away from shots.

It's hard to miss the questions surrounding Marbury's character and the fear that he'll become a cancer in the locker room.

The much-maligned Marbury will not be a distraction.

Do you really think Kevin Garnett would allow that to happen?