Stephon Marbury: It's Not a Mess; It's a Message

The sports media machine has painted the Knicks’ management as the scapegoat for the Stephon Marbury mess.

They want you to believe that Donnie Walsh has made a bad situation worse. They want you to believe that Mike D’Antoni is picking fights with this troubled point guard. They want you to believe that the Knicks have totally mismanaged the whole situation. Yeah, they want you to believe that.

The truth is that we should applaud Walsh; we should be singing the praises of D’Antoni. These two have set a new precedent in New York: thug-like behavior, bad attitudes, and “me first” mentalities are no longer welcome.

These two men were pretty upfront with Marbury concerning his current roll and his future with the team. They envision not only a winning team, but title contention also. Marbury insisted that he would reap “every penny he was owed,” instead of negotiate for a buy-out; all of this while the DNP-CD’s were piling up.

So the situation finally comes about where the Knicks needed Marbury to not only suit up, but possibly even get some playing time. The end result: another DNP-CD. But the bottom line is this: It doesn’t matter whether Marbury was asked to play or told to play; He didn’t do it.

He made a conscious decision to screw his franchise and to screw his team mates when they needed him the most. He had a golden opportunity to salvage some of his image, actually EARN some of the $21.9 million he’s expected to make this year, and maybe,  just maybe, do something hero-esque.

Had he chose to play, he could’ve given his team another chance to win. And maybe, he could have been their savior if only for a night or two.

What we got instead was typical Marbury: decisions made only with himself in mind.

It would be different if this was the first time that he had not been there for his team. But this wasn’t the first time and it almost certainly won’t be the last. He’s been fined,  he’s been suspended,  and how anyone could think that issuing thousands of dollars in fines to a man who make tens of millions in a year will rectify the problem is beyond me.

How many chances does a man need? He abandoned his team last season and then opted for an unnecessary surgery that shelved him for the remainder. He’s a cancer in the locker room. So again I ask, how many chances does he need? How many times does this need to play out? Apparently this last time IS the last time.

Marbury is in a contract year. Two things can really hurt a player in a contract year: injuries and/or lack of playing time. Marbury hasn’t been injured, he’s been benched and a year’s worth of DNP-CD’s can really kill a stat line. With each game that he doesn’t play, his free agent value plummets.

The idea is that reality will finally set in and eventually, he’ll agree to a contract buy out. It’s a brilliant plan; it’s a ballsy plan, and the ploy seems to be working, as I’m hearing of rumors of Marbury landing in Miami and that Shawn Marion is on the trade block.

It’s not often, indeed, it’s quite rare to see a team willing to go this far. This is a new Knicks team and possibly a new era as well. This is a team with new leadership and new aspirations. The message being sent is that behavior like this will not go unchallenged and that it will not be tolerated.

And if it means that a man that has been referred to as your franchise player doesn’t get on the court for even a minute, then so be it. And as weird as it is for me to be able to say this, it would do well for management and coaching throughout the league to pay attention and take notes.

Neither Walsh nor D’Antoni were around when Marbury was given the abomination that is his current contract nor were they around when previous management handed out millions in contracts to overpaid underachievers. But they are dealing with it and taking the steps to rectify it.

Moves have already been made; moves that keep them competitive now and moves that will clear cap space for the free agent class of 2010. Can you imagine a Knicks team coached by D’Antoni and piloted by LeBron James or Chris Bosh, or, God willing, both?

Mark my words: it is a new era in New York. And it’ll be great to see the Big Apple relevant in the NBA again. But in a few years, it will be even better to see the Knicks relevant in the playoffs again. Believe it; their time is coming.